5 comments about Engineering Vibration (3rd Edition).

1. I am currently teaching the introductory course in Mechanical Vibrations at California State University, Fullerton, and chose Dr. Inman's book after evaluating several different texts. The material is well organized, there are numerous practical examples, and the book is easy to read. The book contains substantial material on nonlinear vibrations, and numerical solutions, items that are of immense practical importance. Methods of solution are covered in three different software packages, MathCAD, MATLAB and Mathematica, which, when combined with the quantity of homework problems, allows the Instructor to tailor the class to his or her own preferences.

   Additionally, I am also a practicing engineer, currently employed by a manufacturer of vibration exciters, and have found the material on vibration testing to be accurate and informative. This makes the book valuable as a reference, as well as a textbook.




2. I think that it is a great textbook, which gives students a good balance between the theory and practice, with the nice emphasis of computer capabilities in the area of vibration. I like it very much and I am sure that many students in this country would share my opinion.



3. This book is terrible! It is wrought with errors and is not a wise pick for a textbook. I've checked out the 7 pages of errata that are related to this book and still find major errors that they have overlooked. This book looks like some hack of a professor threw together some half-@$$ed notes.



4. This text is very colored by the authors way of thinking. If you think like the author it may be good for you. If not, then it is very difficult to understand. Important information needed to understand the subject is missing from the book. Nothing is tied together and each new section is a new problem to deal with. Rao's book is much better; any other book would probably be much better.



5. This book is a good book for those who are interested in a beginning study or a reference for basic formulation. It has fantastic didactic and good exercises. So it's very good for undergraduate students. Following it's references may lead one to a bright specialization.

5 comments about Physical Science.

1. I am an adjunct professor at Moraine Valley Community College. I've taught high school and college science. This summer, I taught two sections of physical science with this text. It is terrible - too much detail for a survey course, not enough coverage of mechanics or electricity, not enough conceptual questions. Overall, it is NOT a survey-level text!



2. I used the 6th edition in class this summer (see review). I dearly hope this one is better!



3. I have taught multiple sections of college level physical science from this textbook, and I think it strikes the right balance between depth and breadth.
   
   Tillery does a nice job of integrating four massive scientific fields (physics, chemistry, astronomy, and earth science). Given the ambitious scope of the text, he provides a nice introduction to each of these disciplines.
   
   The book is carefully designed to be user-friendly. It contains answers to many of the end-of-chapter exercises. It also includes a large number of worked examples and practice problems throughout the body of the text. These features make the book useful for self study as well.
   
   Most of the figures are well-designed; the careful illustrations and accompanying captions help make important scientific concepts accessible to a wide audience.
   
   Overall, this is a solid textbook. Although physical science is a course which many students dread, this book gives them the opportunity to succeed. It is appropriate for anyone attempting to learn physical science at the introductory college level.



4. I have taught two semesters of college level physical science from this textbook (7th ed.), and I think it continues to find the right balance between depth and breadth.
   
   Tillery does a nice job of integrating four massive scientific fields (physics, chemistry, astronomy, and earth science). Given the ambitious scope of the text, he provides a nice introduction to each of these disciplines.
   
   The book is carefully designed to be user-friendly. It contains answers to many of the end-of-chapter exercises. It also includes a large number of worked examples and practice problems throughout the body of the text. These features make the book useful for self study as well.
   
   Most of the figures are well-designed; the careful illustrations and accompanying captions help make important scientific concepts accessible to a wide audience.
   
   Overall, this is a solid textbook. Although physical science is a course which many students dread, this book gives them the opportunity to succeed. It is appropriate for anyone attempting to learn physical science at the introductory college level.



5. This book worked great with my class and I saved lots of money by buying an older book, even if NOT the current edition. At this point in writing, this book is the 2nd latest edition (only new edition is newer). What did I pay, something $10 to $15 instead of $120 new?
   
   As far as text ... just about word for word as new Edition. Typically the newer edition book inserted some new, not many, new sections but the other exisitng sections remained just about 100% word for word and picture for picture. But the layout, while still in the same basic order is layed out slightly differently so not all pictures have the same Figure# as the new edition and different page numbers obviously.
   
   This book had special sections called "A closer Look" and "People behind the Science" (basically a brief biography sketch) in more abundance than the newer edition. Which I enjoyed reading. The new edtion features some of the same people (usually a shortened bio than my book, but sometimes the bio for that chapter was on a different person).
   
   Word of caution .... the newer book has many more problems to work and solve which is a plus for the new book ... if you are a student, then you will definitley want to meet with someone from class who has the new edition so that you can copy the problem section and work the new and correct problems. hese are not always the same as the older verison and numbered differently too sometimes.
   
   I took this class by internet and made an A with my older version. All in all, you can't go wrong for the moeny saved. And I thank the person who let me look at their problem set so I would know what the questions were. Sometimes they just typed the written problems by email. And they knew I was tight on money.

No comments about Physics, Chapters 1-17.

4 comments about Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics and Student Study Pack with FBD Package (11th Edition).

1. When I first ordered this the delivery date said january 8th (order 12/28) when I checked again a few days later I was very upset to see that the date had changed to the 10th. I was on winter break and need this book for the 9th which was the day I was heading back to school. It ended up arriving even before the 8th which mad me very happy but I just wasn't happy about how amazon changes the dates all time. I know there isn't much they can do if it is in transit but if that is the case they should assume later dates instead of changing it everytime the date is approaching.
   
   Product was in condition promised.



2. I just received this book now(half way through the semester). I am impressed with it. I got sick of using the book required for the class and started looking for alternatives. Where the required book has a few 1/4 page example problems, this book has 2-4 full page examples per section and about 3-4 sections per chapter. It explains things logically and is fairly easy to understand. It also came with the FBD book that has chapter notes for quick reference. This is the third dynamics book I have purchased so far and also the best. I would recommend this book.



3. This book is useless. If you already know the material it may suffice, but you could do better. If you are going to try to learn dynamics using this book, good luck. The author's examples leave out key steps, and his notation is very unorthodox, making his examples a waste of paper.



4. I used Hibbeler's books in statics and dynamics and found them both to be great. He teaches through heavy use of examples with plenty of them gone through in an exceeding amount of detail. He then finishes each section with a bunch more, most of them having the answers in the back, but not being worked out. The actual text of the book is quite short and uses dense, heavy math that was often used to prove the existence and viability of the formulas. This was usually not needed as most of the time the formulas make intuitive sense once you work through some examples. Yet if ever they dont, the proofs are available to convince you. I suggest if you arent buying this for a class (and why would you be reading a review if you were) that you get a previous edition. There are very few changes and the older ones are a whole lot cheaper. Cheers.

5 comments about How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life.

1. You don't need to be a physicist to understand this book. Take me for example, I took a year of Physics in college and this is enough for me to grasp the concepts presented in this book. What's so wonderful about this book is that it goes beyond the mere equations and formulas we desparately memorized before a physics test, it shows that how physics can be incorporated into our lives and improving the quality of our lives. This is a great book for those preparing for the physics AP test and those who simply want to keep themselves amazed.



2. As a highschool physics teacher, I strongly recommend this book to every physics (and science) teacher. It can serve as a source for daily life examples of physics principles in your instructions. Even if you are an inquiry minded person, you are going to find well-designed explanations for the functioning of lots of tools, machines, etc. in the book. Really exciting, rich content, excellent book.



3. I'm a professor of engineering, and decided to use this book as the primary textbook to give a basic idea, for humanities and liberal arts students, of what engineers do. What a great decision! The first part of the book sweeps neatly through basic physics, which is also, as it turns out, basic engineering. Statics, dynamics, friction, thermo--it's all there, neatly encapsulated in a way that humanities students can easily understand what's going on. The text then moves on to the types of things that really float my boat as an engineer--how refrigerators, car engines, and microwave ovens work. Even though I've been involved in engineering for years, and am a licensed professional engineer, I still learned interesting and helpful new ways of thinking about devices and how things work from this book. Moreover, I think this book helps give non-science and non-engineering students the kind of broad-ranging education they *should* be receiving in a university level. Engineering students, after all, have to study at least a modicum of subjects that relate to world history, English, psychology, and so forth. But humanities students can graduate from college without even having the faintest idea about the workings of the technology that can make their lives so healthy, pleasant and liveable. Call me biased or part of the great NASCAR unwashed, but I think it's just as important for a student to be aware of the essentials of how their refrigerator and car work as it is for them to understand the nuances of Shakespeare. Understanding of the fundamentals of technology also leads to students having a better understanding of the tradeoffs involved in good stewardship of the environment.
   
   Dr. Bloomfield has an extensive list of thoroughly researched demonstrations available through his website. I use some of these demonstrations almost every class day, and students really like them. (I couple the demonstrations with active learning exercises and cooperative learning activities, which helps keep them awake and motivated. I also combine use of Bloomfield's book with readings from Henry Petroski's "Success through Failure, and with short film clips from the National Association of Manufacturers.)
   
   In a study I am working on, I've found that universities that use this text as the backbone of physics courses for non-scientists and non-engineers generally seem to have huge enrollments. That speaks of the giant educational need this book seems to fill.



4. Book in excellent shape and quickly shipped would definitly buy from seller again.



5. This is the book for you if you think you ar not into physics. Or even if you are. It explains the physics of how ordinary things that we use daily really work. It might even spark an interest in learning more. It starts with the practical and goes to the theory and you can go into it pretty much as far as you want to go. If you have any curiosity about science this is a great book by a master teacher.

No comments about Conceptual Physics Media Update (10th Edition).

5 comments about Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics, Chapters 1-46 (with CengageNOW 2-Semester, Personal Tutor Printed Access Card).

1. I really am impressed with this textbook. It is one of the most organized texts I have ever used in college. The authors and publisher do an excellent job of "formatting" the topics. All equations are very well marked and numbered. Many other texts throw an equation in the middle of a paragraph and you can never find it when you need it. Not so in this book! You will always find just what you are looking for.
   
   They also do a great job of explaining the topics, with many many examples in each chapter. They provide "quick quizzes" in each chapter with answers at the end of the chapter that allows you to see how you are doing. They make liberal use of colors and illustrations which all help to ease the strain on the eye, and help the mind follow along.
   
   Overall, VERY GOOD BOOK! This book will never leave my library reference collection.



2. Wow. The book was so illustrated and so colourful, I got distracted. And, boy, do they like to write...I guess it also combats illiteracy!
   
   I foresee a crucial change in forthcoming editions: the style of the guy's pants in the elevator will go out of fashion and they will have to issue a new edition (it will cost more, however, because printing technology will allow you to see the guy in 3D).
   
   I personally find the "features" in these American-style textbooks to be nothing but distractions. Besides, the level of physics students went down, not up, as physicists will tell you. So how are the pedagogical "features" helping? Accordingly, in truth, the level of the books went down. The reality is that they're targeting a certain niche market here, keep that in mind. Granted, this book has been around. But, for real, it's overpriced and if that is what they made you buy, well, I'm sorry. On the bright side, you could be using Halliday's, in which case you'd be even worse off. Seriously though, this book is representative of a slew of books that are full of fluff and overpriced.
   
   If you feel adventurous, get yourself something with less colour and more math, straight out of the 70s, like Alonso and Finn, or McKelvey and Grotch. I garantee you will get to calculate the apparent weight of fishes in elevators. Besides, come to think of it, hey, all the good math and physics books from Springer and Kluwer are in black-and-white!



3. SAVE YOUR MONEY, DON'T BUY THIS EDITION. No, seriously, this book is identical in content to the last edition. If you are going to be a scientist or an engineer and you're buying this book, you have failed your first goal; always find the most affordable solution that is every bit as good as the most expensive.
   
   I'll tell you what you should do -- Buy the last edition, the one with the ship's hull on it, and then ask you professor (or anywhere else the new book is) if you may borrow the book, go to the library and photocopy ONLY THE PROBLEMS FROM EACH CHAPTER. So for 2 maybe 3 semesters of physics the cost is around $30 ($10 dollars for the all-chapter last edition and $20 for around 200 photocopies)!



4. I purchased the Serway/Jewett Physics for Scientists and Engineers Textbook 7th Edition to aide in my understanding of the core concepts in Physics. I have always found the Serway/Jewett series of Physics textbook to offer the greatest material in terms of helping one individual understand the fundamental meanings of the basic concepts of such a complicated subject.
   
   I am a physics major currently enrolled at my local community college taking Physics with Calculus I during this write-up. Our course is using the Halliday/Resnick 8th Edition Textbook.
   
   I have found that the Halliday/Resnick series offers greater homework problems whereas the Serway/Jewett series offer better conceptual understanding of the meanings and formulas. I have occassionally found myself referring back to Serway/Jewett when trying to understand the derivations of certain formulas found in Halliday/Resnick because their explanation or derivation is somewhat lacking. I am sure you would agree if you compare the two textbooks.
   
   Anyhow, I would highly recommend this textbook as a "supplement" textbook in gaining a better understanding of the concepts whereas I would recommend the Halliday/Resnick series for better applications of the concepts.



5. I recently purchased the 7th international edition of this book and my impressions as far are very positive because of the following reasons: All descriptions, concepts and math contained in the book are thoroughly presented and explained, in such a way that any untrained person can understand what is going on. In many cases the writers chose to say the same thing in two different ways, but that works out well since it gives the reader various perspectives. Secondly, apart from the fact that it is self-contained, all the information one may seek from a calculus-algebra based physics textbook is in there. Personally, until now there was nothing I couldn't find. Another thing in favor of Jewett & Serway is its format. The colors, the letters, the useful remarks on the sides, all contribute to its fantastic appeal, without making it overloaded. Finally, at the end of each chapter there is a big collection of problems, exercises and conceptual questions. The only and tiny complaint I have about this book is its lack of an introduction to quantum mechanics. Overall, I believe the writers made a terrific job and the money I spent to buy it totally worthed.

5 comments about Engineering Mechanics - Statics and Dynamics (11th Edition).

1. Although I never took either class, I would rate this a relatively good statics and dynamics book. This is not the type of book where you can "skim" through pages and learn the topics. It might be a tough read, but I still give it a high rating.



2. I have mixed reviews about this text. When going through the earlier material on statics and the first part of mechanics, I found the book to be difficult to learn from. Part of this was because my school didn't teach linear algebra until later, for some strange reason, making it difficult to figure out the cross & dot products presented early on. Eventually, when I was taking a course using the later chapters, I found the book much more helpful, because I had the mathematical background to handle it, and even though the material was at a higher level, I understood it better than the earlier material. So, in short, this book is okay, just make sure you're good at math before getting it.



3. this is the book required in my engineering mechanics class and its a pretty good book. has alot of examples and solutions to some of the practice problems. alot better deal than buying the two books separately even though this book is rather large it turns out its a good bit cheaper than buying them separately



4. I should preface this by saying that I am not a mechanical engineer. There may be important conventions for mechanical engineers illustrated in this book, but that I would not know.
   
   It is better to think of this book not as a textbook but as a set of problems with some solutions. The "text" of this textbook is so poorly written that it is better treated as pointers to sections of your math or physics books you may need to review. The material and problems is not difficult, just poorly explained.
   
   The author is sloppy with notation throughout the book, particularly the section on dynamics. It is not unusual for new notation to be introduced -- unexplained -- in an example or problem.
   
   On that point, most books of this type contain answers to the odd numbered problems. This book is no different (and contains answers to some even ones as well) but is particularly fanatical about keeping this section's page count down. It is common for textbooks to avoid printing a graph for a problem that requires one and instead just list the equation. This book takes that one step farther and sometimes omits the equation in favor of a handful of arbitrary points. This is particularly ridiculous because (like most recent textbooks) the "text" is obstructed by an irrelevant parade of pictures and colored boxes (complete with drop shadows!).
   
   My understand is that this series is infamous for containing many errors. The 9th edition had an egregious error in the first chapter on the SI system, for example. I noticed few outright errors (and on a second look most of those were just sloppiness) in this edition, but be warned.
   
   Between the poor text, gratuitous drop-shadows, and general lack of care for the reader this book looks like it was printed for no reason other than killing the secondary market for the 10th edition.



5. I had to order this book for my Statics and Dynamics class at the University of Michigan. The book is decent but is nothing special. There are a great deal of practice problems and a sufficient amount of examples. The information is pretty clear but I feel it could be described in a better manner than made things easier to comprehend.

5 comments about The Cartoon Guide to Physics.

1. I was a lousy science major in high school. Looking back, I have no idea why I chose the subject I did anyway. The point is, I never understood half the stuff we were going through. Now, 10 years later, I've forgotten the few things I did understand.
   
   Thanks to the magic of Larry Gonick I get now get it! At first glance it still looks hard. They really dive right in with formulas and stuff, but after a little while it feels natural. I just wish my teacher back then had put this book in my hands. Or maybe I just gave Gonick the chance I never gave my teacher. Either way, this was an enjoyable read!



2. Some books make you laugh out loud, and this is one of them.
   
   If you are 'into' physics then you'll probably find it funnier, but I've seen it bring a smile to the face of everyone who flips through it.
   
   I teach an aerodynamics class, and particularly found the book useful in jogging my students' memories regarding their physics fundamentals. However, I'd be really hard pressed to call this text anything more than a fun refresher text. So don't expect exam grade learning from this one.
   
   If it were only as humourous as the Cartoon History series. But then, is it possible to make equations as funny as human behaviour?



3. This book was one of our text books in my introductory physics course in college. If you are struggling with general physics, this book is for you. It breaks everything down into easy to understand explanations and the illustrations are very helpful in visualizing the concepts presented. I've been referring back to it for years now. It has also helped me in studying for the MCAT, to review physics concepts that I had forgotten.



4. Gornick has done a pretty good job of using sequential art (i.e., comics) to explain difficult abstractions. I purchased this text to help my research about comics and teaching. I was quite satisfied.
   
   Gornick mainly uses the illustrations for 2 purposes: to 'show' various experiments and metaphors, or to toss in a gag every couple pages. It's not a very visionary use of sequential art, but basically it works. The text explanations and visual explanations integrate well, and some of the gags are actually funny.
   
   So, for what it's trying to do, the text is successful, I'd say. I only give it 4 stars out of 5 b/c I think there is so much MORE that comics can do.



5. I really enjoy this brief introduction to most of the important fundamentals of Physics. If you have any physics background (I have an undergraduate degree in physics) you won't find much anything really outstanding or significant but you will probably enjoy reading this highly useful and entertaining presentation. The light-hearted perspective may provide physics-literate readers several new ideas on how to explain fundamental physics to "lay-persons".
   For instance, I've provided this text and a couple of others to high schoolers thinking of enrolling in AP Physics. This could provide several students or adults a quick, unthreatening introduction and overview to the major precepts of Physics.
   So that's where I recommend this book be used ... as a quick, non-threatening overview for adults or young people who want the quick 50,000-foot view of college or AP Physics presented in an understandable and humorous fashion that they can get through in one or two sittings.
   And finally, for the physics-literate it provides several examples of how you might approach explaining some of the tenets of physics to other people who, ... let's say were once or still are frightened away from this subject because of a previous presentation they found much too daunting.

5 comments about Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition.

1. This book is an excellent assembly of theoretical classical mechanics. I am an undergrad physics student and I do admit that most of the time it is difficult to understand the basic concepts of electrodynamics, something Griffiths does much better. However if there is any need to go deeper into the mathematical rigor of the theory, look no further. This book is right up there with all of the Landau's collection. A true masterpiece. If you just need a textbook though Griffiths is a much better choice, but both of them are well worth your money.



2. Excellent masterpiece of the subject. Surely not a "Electrodynamics for dummies" book, but a good reference for graduated students and experts. The exercises are quite hard, but... that's physics!



3. According to some other reviews this text makes an excellent reference for professionals. However, they've already taken the tests, and been through the classes. In short they already have their Phd. If you know the majority of readers of your book are coming to you to improve their understanding or learn entirely new material, why would you make difficult stuff even harder by intentionally omitting derivation steps in every section of every chapter. With the deadlines and time constraints associated with student life it's almost impossible to get through all the difficult derivations in the reading before even getting to the sometimes insane problems in a reasonable time. Either try to make the reading as clear as possible, and the problems challenging, or reduce the difficulty of the problems and have the reading challenging like it is now, but don't challenge the usually involuntary student readers with both difficulties. I may change my opinion later, but for now I feel that the level of difficulty and style of this text is based largely on the cruelty of the author.



4. I, like many others, used this book for graduate E&M. The text is easy to follow, however, for those who haven't seen the mathematical derivation techniques for quite some time, it is best to pause and take a moment reviewing how one equation becomes the succeeding equation. Jackson often, but not always, quotes what technique was involved so it shouldn't be too hard to look up vector identities and techniques involving standard functions (orthonormal, Green, etc.) in any advanced calculus text. For those who love the challenge of solving a variety of problems, this is your book. Jackson exercises your mind in such a way that you should find yourself pulling everything and anything you can remember (as far back as those unpleasant undergraduate days) applicable to the problem at hand and piece the puzzle together until you arrive at "a" solution. During my graduate studies, we used F. Melia's "Electrodynamics" alongside Jackson. However, it was extremely cumbersome working with something in Gaussian units and MKSA at the same time between the two books, but there was a good reason to use both. Melia's book was first written to accomodate Jackson's 2nd and other E&M books written in Gaussian units, so I'm sure that the 2nd edition Jackson would work very well with Melia's book. Melia most respectfully spells out the conceptual ideas (physics) for you and Jackson will nail you with the mathematical techniques involved, especially in his problem sets. Overall, I rate this a 4/5 stars simply because the 3rd edition used MKSA units, where I think Gaussian is much more elegant. Jackson explains why he decided to do this in the preface to the 3rd edition and it's all fair game. Use this book to brush up on your mathematical techniques. To be honest, Griffith's "Introduction to Electrodynamics" would be an excellent text to use before you even decide to read Jackson's or Melia's. If you can master Griffith's book first, then it would make your life better when you adventure into Jackson's 3rd.



5. This book is tough and the problems can be a 'nightmare', but it is a great book. I am a graduate student in physics and I just love how it goes into so many aspects of Electrodynamics and in detail.