2 comments about Audel Electrician's Pocket Manual.

1. This book is typical of the Audels books in that it fairly concisely covers the important areas of the topic. It is a resource book that most people could use for several years before needing to go to another reference for technical aspects.



2. The NEC is updated every 3 years, the 2008 is out and shipped in October 2007. The states usually take a year or so to review and adopt, but the 2002 should not be used. This is misleading saying it is "updated", since it is annotation the 2002 version! Sorry but I have to give it a 1 star to get peoples attention. If the author has a 2005/2008 edition, please buy that instead, or you might not be in code!

No comments about U.S. Army Special Forces Handbook.

5 comments about Essential Equations for the FE Exam Using the Hp 33s.

1. This book was a tremendous help. I bought it only a week-and-a-half before my FE Exam, and it helped wonders. I even passed the FE on my first try! I am definitely recommending this book. It is a huge time-saver. If you can have all the equations ready to go in your calc, then all you have to do is plug in the variable's values, and it's a lot quicker than writing all of that down to solve it! LOVE THIS BOOK! Excellent buy!



2. The book was not entirely clear and a few of the essential equations that are looked at in the review are not included in the step by step storage. The step by step instructions are great and are given with great detail. However the list of equations that the book could have included additionally is far larger than those indicated in the book. The actual worked exam problems could have gone into further detail. If you are completely unfamiliar with this calculator, this book is ideal.



3. Read it in a day passed the exam, but I don't think it helped not one bit I returned it. Still waiting for my refund!



4. This book is great, there are plenty of equations for you to use in the test, great book... It takes some time to programm all the equations in the calculator, but if you calculate how much time you are saving in the long run you should be fine... 100% recomended...



5. The HP 33 is not a user friendly calculator (neither is the owners manual) but this book definetly helps you understand it's programability well it spoon feeds exactly what & how to enter the calulations. It helps more with the a.m. general session since you encounter more straitforward "plug and chug" problems, but still helpful in the p.m. Time is the shortest commodity in a test, so give yourself a little edge and run through the equations faster with your calculator preprogrammed. Very handy for equations where you have to solve for y in a y^n form, let the calculator do the iterations and algebra in a second, instead of spending precious time working it out by hand. But program early and work problems with your calculator so you can help determine if the answers coming out are reasonable "garbage in -> garbage out"

2 comments about Fundamentals of Graphics Communication.

1. This book is really helpful especially for those who are aspiring engineers because graphic design is a skill that engineers today and in the future really need. This book is really helpful in explaining concepts and defining the graphic design vocabs.



2. After I purchased this book I changed my mind. I contacted the seller and he was very helpful on that matter and I got my money back immediately.

2 comments about Machine Tool Practices (7th Edition).

1. I find this book clear and easy to read on machining topics. The photographs and illustrations fit well with the text. Generally a worthwhile beginners to intermediate book for pre apprentice to 3rd year. However in future editions I would like to see ISO metric information on topics such as threads and tapers along with limits and fits. I would also like to see a change to more up to date toolposts and tool holders for the lathes.



2. This book and the workbook were required for a machine shop class I took. The Amazon description is pretty accurate. It is written for someone in a vocational training program who will be working in the industry rather than a home workshop. The book covers a lot of material, but doesn't go into depth on any of it. Its a pretty good introductory book, but its kind of expensive. I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't required for the class. If you are just interested in learning to operate a certain machine, like a mill or lathe, or if you are interested in machining as a hobby I think there are probably better books. I am giving it 3 stars because of the high price, and many of the photos are not high enough quality, especially considering the price.

5 comments about Maker's Notebook.

1. This is truly the best thing i have bought from makezine and amazon. Highly recommended.



2. Ok... this might be the most unusual book review I've ever done. I'm about to review a book consisting of... blank pages. Ah, but what blank pages they are! :) It's the Maker's Notebook by O'Reilly Publishing and the staff at MAKE magazine. I was given this as a gift from a friend, and I don't think she could have given me something that appeals more to me on so many levels.
   
   The Maker's Notebook is designed to be a durable, long-lasting lab notebook for your projects and experimentations. As stated in one of the chemistry books I reviewed, it's imperative that you document your work in such a way that it's reproducible as well as leaving a chain of evidence of what you did to get to the final result. While you can do this with a number of blank notebooks, the Maker's Notebook fills the need in a classy way. It's hardbound, so the durability will be better than something with a light cardboard cover. The pages inside consist of graph paper with room at the top for project/idea, date, notes/signature, and a place to record the starting and ending page(s) of the experiment notes. And since each page is numbered, there's never any question as to whether pages have been removed or not. Beyond those core features, there's a touch of the practical and whimsical. There's a built-in ruler on the inside cover that's handy, and the last dozen or so pages have "important" reference information... common weights and measures (and conversion factors), area codes and international calling codes, common glue bonds, the robot laws and rules, caffeine amounts in common caffeinated drinks, common English to 1337 character substitutions, and so forth. Throw in a ribbon to mark your place, a rubber band to hold the book tight and hold loose items, and stickers to brand pages and/or the cover, and you have a complete tool for documentation. There's even a white space on the edge binding so you can write a title and still read it on a bookshelf!
   
   I'll admit I'm a junkie for these types of things. Clean, empty pages... waiting to be filled... so many promises. In this particular case, I plan on using my notebook to take notes as I learn about my new digital SLR camera. I was convinced even before this arrived that I needed to take notes to become good at photography. Now I have the perfect place to put them.
   
   My guess is that even though this is the first Maker's Notebook I have, it won't be my last...



3. I've yet to complete a project yet, but i've drawn up at least 20 good ideas. I went to the website and added the back pocket they described. I love this book.



4. It's a good notebook. Not sure how often I'll use the diagrams in the back, but I had visions of reading them during particularly boring meetings. One quibble: they should add an elastic loop to hold a pen. How hard would that be?



5. This is partly a review of Amazon's format. I already sent my thoughts by an Amazon contact link.
   
   I didn't find anywhere that Amazon described the contents of the book, or other books, even on a second check after I was told there was such. I only found links about options for buying and such. I also wonder where anyone will see this review.
   
   Instead of mostly graph paper, I had expected the whole book to be similar to the information and wisdom of the last few pages. I don't find the graph paper that useful. If I was going to use such, I'd want it on large loose sheets that could lie flat.
   
   Dan Robinson

1 comments about The Mathematics of Turfgrass Maintenance.

1. It should be named something like the "Essential Math Reference Book for Farmers, Landscapers, Golf Course Superintendants, Nursery Managers etc." What a wonderful and easy to use reference book for anyone dealing with the frustrating world of area measurements, volume/fertilizer/pesticide/irrigation/seeding rate calculations, and spreader and spayer calibration. I've worn out one copy and am on my second. I use it on my farm, at work as a pesticides applicator, and in my landscaping business. This is a must-have book for folks like me that hate math but have to use it almost everyday....believe me your money won't be wasted on this one and it won't just collect dust on your shelf.

5 comments about Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits, Volume 7.

1. After puchasing volumes 1-6 as a group and testing some of the circuits I spent many hours correcting the mistakes and errors in these circuits. I threw the books into the closet and designed from scratch my own circuits, it took far less time and they work when I'm done. I wish you could hold the authors accountable for lost time I could hire a design staff larger than Microsoft.



2. This series contains thousands of schematics from a variety of sources. I'm quite sure that few, if any, were tested by the authors. However, based on the sources, most probably were tested by the originators. The explanations were sparse, and there were errors, some obvious. As such, these are probably not suitable for beginners. However, I find them to be very valuable, and I suspect that many experienced techs, engineers, hobbiests, and experimenters will as well. I often use part of one circuit as the seed of an idea for a circuit I am designing, with the end result bearing little resemblance to the original. These are filled with perhaps the most valuable of all resources - other people's ideas. I do wish the authors had been more careful to catch errors.



3. Several readers have criticized this book for its lack of working circuits. Let me say that I too have run up against this problem while lifting circuits from this book. However, I like to look at this book as a great compendium of circuit ideas that are going to need some modification if they are to work as advertised. I particularly liked the sections on game circuits, sound-effect circuits, and sound/voice activated circuits. I have built several of these, and I had to make some adjustments to each one. The point is that the basic ideas were all there along with pretty good descriptions for each circuit. The author also takes the time to introduce electronic parts with which you may not be familiar. If you are not already familiar with electronics, this is not the book for you, since familiarity with electronics and circuit design is assumed. However, for only $40 I think it is a great value for those with the correct background.



4. I already had Vol 1. of this series from decades ago. I thought the author had maybe improved the content and accuracy of his books. Sadly mistaken. Schematic diagrams are routinely missing values for parts or lacking important information. I have been in electronics for several decades and I again am greatly disappointed with lack of quality. I don't know if the author received permission to reprint these circuits on the condition he left out part values or what. For the money your better off somewhere else. Large voume of circuits diminished by poor quality of information.



5. This book has lots of mistakes (many circuits don't work), the author kept many magazines through years and reprinted the circuits he found in them.

5 comments about Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web (VOICES).

1. This book won't present shocking facts about IA but it puts in writing many things that come in handy when you have to work in this field. The author includes good examples and the book can be read from cover to cover without feeling overwhelmed. Overall, it's worth taking the time out to read a book like this.



2. this volume is an extremely valuable lesson from a true leader in the field. Wodtke provides insight into the thinking behind some of the most-used services on the Internet today.



3. This book is a pretty quick read and a very good overview/introduction to the field of information architecture and HCI methods in general. Wodtke covers wireframes, content inventories, usability testing, interviewing users, heuristics, metadata, personas/scenarios, human memory, the concept of recall vs. recognition, and many other topics. After having a year of graduate coursework in HCI, I'm not sure I really learned anything new from this book but it was a really good refresher. Moreover, there's a diagramming chapter that is excellent. It included examples of some diagrams that I had never tried before and wasn't familiar with. Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It was fun and easy to read and very useful. For me, it will serve as a nice handy "all-in-one" reference guide.



4. I'm a web developer and have always been fascinated with the interaction of humans and web sites, and this book does an excellent job of explaining the subject in simple terms while addressing more complex issues, as well. I read this book back in 2003 when it was first published and, not being an information architect, was happy to find it spoke to my level of knowledge.
   
   With chapter titles like "First Principles: Some rules of thumb, and some thumbing of the rules" and "Gurus and Rules: In which some people like to boss you around, when we know that's my job," the book entertains as it educates, and leaves you with a comrehensive set of steps & guidelines when designing a site from scratch or improving an existing one. Numerous case studies, screen shots and diagrams also break up the monotony of what could otherwise be a boring subject.
   
   If you're new to IA or are looking to expand your knowledge of architecting user interfaces for the web, this book belongs on your bookshelf.



5. I have to ask you a question - "Are you just starting yours studies at IA now?". If yes, probably this book will help you. It's easy to read, small and fun. A really nice overview about IA and even usability. You could spend a lot of time reading the polar bear book, and I recommend that, but start reading this book is a nice idea too.
   
   Unfortunely, if you have a little more experience on the subject, you won't get such surprising insights like the beginners readers. Christina has writen good things about the creation of personas and scenarios, one entire chapter, and that's all. Sometimes she mixes usability, IA and design in a strange way, losing focus. Even worst is how the book begin and over, very bad, with sad and ingenuous recommendations.
   
   Simplifying... if you looks at a nice overview about IA, you'll enjoy reading this book. Otherwise, search for another book, more consistent, with more focus and better ideas, not only common.

1 comments about Builder's Essentials Estimating Building Costs: For The Residential & Light Commercial Contractor (Builder's Essentials).

1. I learned a lot from the book and have passed it on to my son to do the same. He says it's A-OK.