Handbook of mechanics, materials, and structures /

Written for the practicing engineer who is involved with the design process in some manner, this handbook appears to be a summary of a number of engineering courses, viz., engineering mechanics, strength of materials, materials science, experimental stress analysis, structural analysis, and a number of small pieces from other courses. It serves the purpose of putting this information in one volume. The authors are well qualified, but have chosen not to add to or rise above the standard fare dished out to most engineering undergraduates (even though material commonly offered at the graduate level is also included in some chapters). For example, O. Gurel, the author of the chapter on engineering mathematics, has done very interesting work on nonlinear ordinary differential equations and their applications, but does not mention them. The authors of the second chapter, Van Buskirk and Cowin, have made contributions to biomechanics and continuum mechanics, but chose to present statics and dynamics in the same manner and content of the standard required low-level texts. The experimental areas are perhaps even more deficient, with many standard techniques in materials and structures used regularly in industry not even being mentioned, such as acoustic emission and ultrasonics. Most engineering libraries can get along fine without this handbook.-A.M. Strauss, Vanderbilt University