Builder

I used the book as a textbook for a course on structural wood design (the term "Timber" design is a misnomer that is commonly used because it has been the traditional term for engineered structural wood design). The books covers beams, columns, connections, trusses, laminated timber, and plywood.

The book takes a practical but thorough approach to the design of wood structures - avoiding an overly theoretical approach. Although the title specifies "architects and builders" it is appropriate for engineers too, and to get the most use out of the book, the reader should have a background in mechanics of materials.

One particularly timely topic covered is the behavior and design of diaphragms and shearwalls, which is the most common method of resisting wind and earthquake forces.

The book includes many useful tables - something that many other books leave for the reader to collect from end-of-the-chapter references.

Overall, in my opinion, this is one of the best - if not the best - book currently available on structural wood design.

A well written book with easy to follow examples. This was my first experience with timber design and I found the book very useful as a practicing engineer. The examples were complete and easy to follow and apply.

This book is great, it boosted my SAT score by 100 points. I benefitted a lot from the contents and it gives you great practice. I suggest you buy the book for test prep. The book does exactly what it says on the cover.

Finally! I was having a problem with reading comprehension. I was having a hard time with my homework, and also preparing for English tests. This book really breaks down the best way to understand what you read. All the practice really helps too!

Stellman does a good job of capturing the spirit of this man, Samuel Brannan, who was instrumental in the development of California history, but this work is more novel than true history.

Brannan was leader of the first Mormon party to land in Yerba Buena, later to become San Francisco, and would go on to make a fortune promoting and profiting from the Gold Rush in California, found San Francisco's first newspaper, act as judge and prosecutor in California's first trial, be excommunicated from the Mormon church, perform its first marriage, try to get Brigham Young to settle the Mormons in California, and end up dying penniless in San Diego county.

A work about a person who did not keep a diary or journal, but was no stranger to self-promotion and bombastic expression, this account of Brannan's life is subject to some interpretation by any serious student of history. An engaging work containing some fiction (there is no bibliography about this historical figure, instead a section titled "in lieu of bibliography" to give source material for the author's assertions), this is a very readable book about perhaps one of the largest figures in the history of 19th century America who remains to this day one of the most obscure. If looking for hardcore, scholarly history, go elsewhere. If looking for interesting reading about a colorful, engaging pioneer of California history, this book is perfect for you.

the original sam brannan was written in the 1930 time frame. please locate a copy for me. thanks.

This book has been a source of endless delight for our young children.

In the style of the "Where's Waldo" series, Christian illustrator Daniel Hochstatter has pages of brightly coloured and entertaining pictures. Each page features various various characters or items that the children must find on the page. "Sammy the sheep" and his "shepherd" as well as their companions are hidden somewhere on each page.

Two beefs with this edition:

1. This omnibus is a collection of four "Seeking Sammy" titles. The organization is somewhat unfortunate, as pages from each separate have been randomly placed alongside each other. However, it must be conceded that each page is an independent challenge, and each page alone offers hours of amusement.

2. Some of the illustrations picture scenes from Bible narratives, eg Noah's ark, the dividing of the Red Sea. Hochstatter does this rather disrespectfully, confusing the modern with the ancient. See a jet powered boat with a water skier at the Red Sea is in my view a disrespectful anachronism. However, it must be conceded that with young children who don't realize that this is intending to picture a Bible story, this is not an issue.

Nonetheless, the entertainment value of this book makes it most desireable. Very highly recommended!

My 8 year old son has enough trouble sitting still, but this book is enough to keep his attention. And as a parent, I view any time with his nose in a book is good time! Get this book!

Word Clues is a book I am studying in English class. I think it is good because it really teaches about the vocabulary. It teaches roots, prefixes, and suffixes, as well as words that use them. There are about 15 words in each lesson, so it helps learn at a slow and steady pace.

I use this book everyday; it is a fabulous find, easy to use, has been in print for 40 some years, is organized in a way that you can look up Greek and Latin suffixes in English. (some books only use Greek alphabet for words, confounding those who did not study ancient Greek language) It is just the right size and can be used to self study and learn how to know what a new word might mean by recognizing the "code" in its prefixes and suffixes and root words.

By profession I'm a Software Engineer
(This is about the second edition)
I borrowed this book at the local library -I'm glad that I didn't buy it!

I was told that my last review suck! I agreed (too much stress) and rewrote...

Generally this book is about reusing/rearranging junk for your robot projects (this may seem like a good idea). The book covers a lot of topics - too fast in most cases and offers you only "1" solution to a problem that if you sat down and think would solve in a completely different manner.
Chapter 40: "Sound output and input" the author simply forgets that he has a uC at his disposal and combines some 555 timer IC's for a siren - indeed software is a more obvious solution.
His final output stage is a lm386 from National that can deliver approx. 0,5w. (this not even a driver stage!)

I occasionally find the components required exotic - this may however be a local problem.
Overall I'm glad that I read this book it is completely stuffed with interesting ideas - I just almost never agree with the given solution.
I was dying to read the chapter on IR communication but it only made use of an ordinary remote control. - The book's program was ONLY about the receiver. Who wants to control their robot with their tv-remote controller.
Of course you want to design your own transmitter! No theory is given so again 'your solution'. I put my tv-remote on a scope and synthesised it using an Atmel uC.

This is what dislike about the book - the lack of theory. It contains tons of ideas but you must learn about it elsewhere.
(Oh my Good, he uses BASIC!)

Gordon has outdone himself with this new edition of RBB. This is probabaly one of the most encompassing books on robotics ever. In these 750 pages, he has managed to include an in-depth coverage of almost all aspects of robotics including electonics, mechanical construction, programming, interfacing to all types of sensors, the use of the most popular motors, and very many of the microcontrollers available for robot brains. This book brings so much information together in one volume, that it makes the job of a potential robot builder vastly easier. For the newcommer to the field, there is much food for thought here. He covers much of the basics needed to get started and pulls together such a wealth of information that would otherwise take a lot of work to find (such as how to use hobby servos, how to modify them for continuous rotation, how to hack cheap Polaroid camera to use the sonar module for range measurements, etc.). If you can't find it here, you probably don't need it! For the more experienced builders, this should be a valuable reference and save you from having to search through a half dozen books to find some details of a particular sensor, construction technique, or microcontroller. Did I mention the price? This is an incredible buy! There is a lot of work and research invested in this book and anyone with a serious interest in robotics would be a fool not to own it. Look over the table of contents to get a sample of the breadth of coverage. The appendices also have a lot of useful resources such as additional books, sources for parts and Internet links. There should be a lot more little robot critters out there with the publication of this great book!

This second edition of Robot Builder's Bonanza provides a much needed update on the rapidly expanding interest in mobile robotics. Many amateurs started their robot building hobby with the appearance of the first edition in 1987. Since then there has been many updates in the sensors and especially microprocessors available for robot builders. Gordon McComb brings us up-to-date on this technology while maintaining the valuable construction tips and techniques of the first edition. Every book has an intended audience. I know of no better book than Robot Builder's Bonanza for beginners in this fascinating and future technology. The book is also a valuable compendium of ideas and techniques for more experienced robot builders. Finally, if you're a tinkerer, you have to have this book.

This book subtitled "Titanic Secrets Revealed Thru The Eyes Of Her Builder" was enough for this reader to purchase this book. Don't make the same mistake. This book is really just a historical novel. Ths clincher with this book is. "Revealed thru the eyes of her builder" means some American from Cleveland has become a shipbuilder's "Bridey Murphy". Receivng information about the defects in the Titanic from the long dead builder speaking through this author. Coincendently the "builder's conclusion as to why the Titanic sank is the same as the episode on the Discovery Channel's Titanic Documentary.I recommend the Discovery Channel on this one. My main gripe is the title gave no hint that the source of information is on shakey ground to say the least.

Thomas Andrews always seemed like an enigma to me until this book came along. Certainly he seems to be one of Titanic's more tragic characters. I always suspected that Titanic's builders must've known the ship was not exactly safe. I Built the Titanic confirmed my suspicions. The story tells who really was to blame for Titanic's death, and it wasn't Mr. Andrews! The book is well- narrated and the listener NEVER loses interest. Putting the actual recorded regressions into the story was a stroke of genius. It adds to the credibility and the realism of the book. It's as if Thomas Andrews literally came back to tell his side of it all, which, I guess the point of the story is-- he did! This is really a must have book for the Titanic enthusiast or anyone interested in a gripping dramatic tale!

This was one of the most amazing stories I have heard about from the Titanic. It answers many of the questions that have been asked in the past.For example many people have often wondered what happen to Thomas Andrews the ships builder.I will not not give away the answer but instead I will tell you that the situation was unlike anything you have seen in a movie. I would greatly recommend this book as well as A Night to Remember. Both books give vital information on the sinking of the Titanic.If you have any interest in the Titanic, than this book a must read book.

I am reading through this book and have experienced the following
issues:

1. The CD does not contain the examples that the author
refers to in the book. Chapter 2 refers to a debug
example on the CD and Chapter 3 refers to a DragDrop
project. Both these projects do not exist on the CD. I had
to stop and write a review at this point where I am only
in Chapter 3... 2. Many sections in the book are not organized and leave
the reader totally confused. Chapter 3 explains about
frames... I had to skip that section as I could not
understand anything. A constructive example would be
much better.

I am somewhat disappointed with the publisher

Daniel

Finally an overdue book on version 5.0! The content is great and deserves a 5 star rating. It is what we have been waiting for. But somethings missing....

Why are chapters 2, 4, 8, 11, 14, 18, 22 and 28 on CD-ROM??? This is over 400 pages of information. Imagine the surprise when you flip to Chapter 4 "Advanced Programming with C++ Builder" and the chapter consists of 1 page saying "The complete text for this chapter appears on the CD-ROM".

Can somebody out there explain this? Next time make the book larger and with a hardcover (It should have been so anyway), or split it into a two volume set. I give the layout 1 star. Final rating : 3

This is the only C++ Builder 5 book available in book stores. Fortunately, it is a GREAT book. It covers the topics (see Table of Contents by clicking on the hyperlink) well.

As pointed out, the PDF file could be improved. Certainly if hyperlinks are included would make it easier and more practical for the reader.

As for some chapters being available only on the CD-ROM, I would say that it is a matter of personal preference. Would you mind buying another book or just leave it as chapters on the CD-ROM? But it is great stuff and I personally find it easily to look for stuff printed in book form rather on CD-ROM.

If you are using C++ Builder 5, you will find this book useful.

Its for windows 3.1 very poorly done has not been updated.
hardly no audio at all.I know Merriam Webster can do a lot
better than that.

This is one of those books that will or will not work for you depending on who you are. If you're trying to study for an all-important standardized test, then this book will be perfect for you. If, however, you're just a regular Joe Shmoe just wanting to expand his everyday speaking vocabulary, then this book will be a flop. There are just too many words introduced in this book that have no practical use in normal life. "Coeval's" a nice word, but who's going to use this in typical conversation?

Another problem is the way the book is organized. It's done so in terms of "latin roots." Let's face it-- sometimes this strategy works, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's better to group words in a "practical sense"-- like in Funk's book where he divides words according to their function (like descriptions of personalities; names of medical professions, etc.). Introducing people to new words using latin roots will only be helpful to people who first know what the latin roots mean. But what if you don't? Must you first learn all the latin roots first before you learn what lycanthropy means? That's just too much work for some people who just want to polish up their vocabulary a little. I suggest that if you are, in fact, just a regular person who's only trying to fill up the gaps in his vocabulary, that you check out Funk's classic, more practical vocabulary building book. Otherwise, don't bother with this one.

Despite advertising hype, no ONE book will double your vocabulary, but reading several vocabulary-building books can double your vocabulary. Different vocabulary-building books have different words and different explanations. If you don't learn a word from one book, you can learn it from another book.

Any vocabulary-building book will have many words, a fourth to half the book, that you already understand. You can always skip or skim the easy-to-you words.

Varied, incomplete word selection is another reason for using several books. Some books just take words used on past-standardized tests, neglecting other words. Other books, limit their words to words based on word roots, neglecting others. Often authors have thrown in personal favorite words, even if others rarely use the words. If you see a word in two or three books, it's generally a need-to-know word.

The only weakness of Merriam Webster's Vocabulary Builder, and no book is perfect, is that the word selection is limited to words based on word roots. I have not seen the CD version noted by other reviewers and my review applies only the paperback. The price is great.

Other Books: Cartoon/Mnemonic vocabulary books have their fans who like the mnemonic memory aids, which are useful before tests. But with only one word and one cartoon per page, these books may only have a few hundred words and are expensive per word. Audio vocabulary books such as Elite Word Power, let you hearing each word pronounced correctly, helpful for improving speaking vocabulary.

I bought this book thinking that it was the recent version, but it's a reissue of the 1932 edition! The publishing date is 1998 and the title makes no mention of the antiquated material. This book is an interesting historical work but is useless as a contemporary reference. Make sure you get the "10th Edition" published in 2000 if you want the recent one. I'm trying to return my 1932 antique now.

Once again the editors of Graphic Standards have promised a useful reference for architects, and have fallen way short. In architecture school (1972), I purchased the sixth edition and found it better than most reference books for students of architecture. However, even then I noticed many sections of questionable value. Pages and pages of dimensions of designer furniture and kitchenware fall into this category.

Recently, after practicing architecture for 20 years, I was suckered back by publisher Wiley's siren song of how the new tenth edition is new, informative, refreshing, up to date, etc. Fooled again. Sure, the Graphic Standards is a fair source of information, but I question the editors' judgement as to what is worth publishing between the wonderfully bound front and rear cover. For example, look up "R-value" in the index and you are directed to 55 words on page 486 how R-value relates to windows and that it's the inverse of U-values. Nothing on the R-value of all exterior skin construction materials or how the R-value relates poorly to thermal massing materials. These things should be very important to architects and are disappointingly absent from the Graphic Standards. However, if you ever need to know what a Zamboni looks like, or need to know the dimensions required for a rodeo barrel race, this is your book! Want an entire page showing ten pieces of gymnastics equipment (pg. 777) or how to draw an ellipse using pen or pencil (pg.999)? Seek no more. Twenty four pages of kitchen utensils and garden tools are still there. This is the best place to find loads of pages of barely useful information of dubious worth.

Once the editors of Graphic Standards discover that a meaningful discussion on R-values in building materials deserves more space than the dimensions of a belt sander, then I might reconsider purchasing a later edition, but I won't hold my breath. Oh, one more thing, for you architects out there working on a Macintosh platform, the accompanying CD-ROM is useless.

It has 154 more pages than the 9th edition, so it has new information, but as you page through it you will find it seems almost identical. They need to keep most of the old data, so I wouldn't take off points for that. You can see the publisher's review for all of the new features: I noticed that the Historic Preservation chapter has been shortened a bit.

Potentially, the biggest addition is the CD-ROM, which has CAD files ready to use, and includes pretty much everything from the book. You might think that you are getting all that for the cost of the book, but...no. The "demo" CD comes in a sleeve inside the back cover, and is noted: "Full functionality, Limited data." You can access a drawing of a bar joist, for example. It exports a DWG or DXF file with layers based on line weights. The interface is pretty clear; you don't have to read any instructions to start using it. The CD actually has all of the data, but you have to pay another $425 online to "unlock" it. That could be a bargain, but I suspect that most firms will feel that their own detail library is more applicable to the work they do. Still, $425 represents less than a day's worth of billable hours.

Every architect knows the value of this book, and most every architecture firm (in the U.S. anyway) will want at least one copy just to stay current, and because the old one is getting worn out. You might as well get it now, and decide on the CD-ROM later. I'd love to have a special edition set with each page ever published in all of the AGS books, or even just the last 3 or 4. I'd give that 6 stars.