Pamp;L

As an expert in pipelines design a recommend it very extensively because of the structure is is written and the wide range of the covered topics. The most comprehensive book in the field!

The authors begin their review of the 17th-century Hobbes-Boyle controversy by declaring their intent to take a strongly pro-Hobbes stance, so it is not surprising that they end by concluding that "Hobbes was right". (About what, is not clear.)

Their stated reason for adapting this biased perspective is that the opposite view (that Hobbes was wrong) has been so thoroughly documented that not much new could be added. Only by adopting a "charitable" view of Hobbes, and a critical view of his opponents, could they make a significant new contribution. In other words, they wanted to make a splash, not a ripple.

Their bias is expressed by selective omission of information unfavorable to Hobbes. For example, in Hobbes's "Dialogus Physicus", his fallacious solution of the cube-duplication problem has been deleted, without mentioning that it was fallacious. Also, the reader is not informed that a "Torricelli apparatus" and a "mercury barometer" are functionally identical; the height of the mercury column varies with weather conditions. This variability was a problem for Hobbes, but not for Boyle. But it is not mentioned, except in connection with a suggestion that the experimentalists may have fudged their data.

Also, the authors should have noted that Hobbes's a-priori rationalist philosophy is not a viable alternative to experimentalism, because it is based on an elementary logical fallacy: you cannot make up definitions and postulates arbitrarily AND claim that deductions from them give certainty about the real world.

the sentence starting on page 251 and continuing on page 252 seems wrong.

Cavitation at higher temperature will have less effect than at higher temperatures...?

This book is the best single book on fire department pumping apparatus and related topics that a driver/operator needs to know. if you are only going to have one book, this is it. This book replaces and combines the information from IFSTA's Fire Stream Practices, Pumping Apparatus, and Water Supplies.

My only real issue with this book is that though it is much more practical that having to read three other books, there is a lot missing that would be useful to know. The three books it replaced had over 1100 pages of information, and this book only have about 470. There is over 630 pages of information that has been left out and much of that is important to know. The most important information is included in this book but there is so much that is left out. If you can get the other three books, to get the left out and more technical information, take advantage of that.

On the plus side this book is an improvement on much of the past work that IFSTA has done. The information is more practical than in the past. In past texts it's been difficult to understand fire pump theory and operating the vehicle but this book helps to make it easier to understand. The hydraulics section is clear and covers most of the essential knowledge that a pump operator would need to know. The colored pictures make the book a little easier to read.

I'm also partial to this book because one of the training officers from my department had a hand in putting this book together. If you are going to buy this book, make sure you get the study guide with it. Much of the knowledge in this book is technical and the study guide helps you to make sure that you are understanding the information.

I am a Registered Nurse working with a Cardiologist seeing CHF patients in a Heart Failure Clinic. The book is short and to the point. It covers the basics of CHF: Causes, Medical Management, Symptoms, Medications, Diet, Fluid Limitation, Daily Weight,& Exercise. The illustrations are easy to understand, as are the verbal explanations. The book could benefit from an update, since the treatments and understanding of this illness are changing rapidly. I must strongly recommend it because of all the materials I have available, patients and family members prefer this book. They all say that they gained a new understanding after reading the book, even though many have been in treatment for months and years.

NOT a good tape; the songs are super cheesy, and are also the same songs on her 'disco' tape; ... Usually she has good tapes, but not this time!

I found this tape disappointing - usually I like Kathy Smith, but this one wasn't up to her usual standard. The selections weren't especially energizing. If you're not a country music fan, there's just no reason to buy this tape.

I have been using this paticular tape for the last five years in my walking program for weight loss. I have had great success with it, I have lost a total of 108lbs and most important I have kept it off. I am very disipointed to find that it is no longer in print, because my copy is getting old and does not play as well as it has.

I would recomend this tape to any on attempting weight loss or just to become more phisically fit.

Thank you

Joyce

Book good for the Mechanical Engineers and Pump Designers, but not for the Civil Engineers. A lot of theoretical information in that book, but not an adequate amount of useful knowledge.

A classic in the field of pump design, Stepanoff's "Centrifugal and Axial Flow Pumps" is written for the working engineer and pump designer, but is also a useful starting point for the academician.

Filled with test data and real world design examples, the book has stood the test of time: Stepanoff's treatise is virtually unchanged since the late 1940's.

It is mostly practical in its outlook, but doesn't overlook the theoretical basis for pump design. But make no mistake, even with the heavy use today of computer finite element routines and computational fluid dynamics, commercially successful pump hydraulic design is as much art and "feel", trained by test data, as it is theoretical -- a commercial pump manufacturer would go broke in a short time if he bought CFD codes, fired his pump designer, and threw away his old tests. This is exactly why Stepanoff's book is still up-to-data despite its folksy 1940's look.

After spending many years as both a pump designer and a pump user, I bought my first copy in the 1970's, wore it out, and bought the reprint by Krieger last year. If you're contemplating working seriously in this field, either as a user or a designer, "Stepanoff" should be on your shelf.

Martin Smith, PE

I bought this book recently to learn more about Stirling engines, their history, and their workings, with aspirations of building one from scratch. The level of depth of content is appropriate to the size and cost of the book, meaning that it is not an exhaustive study, and it does give a good background on the history and working of Stirling engines. In addition, there is a good list of resources in the back to further direct research and study.

However, I am appalled at the typos and editing of this book. In the introduction alone there are many mistakes: misuses of "it's" and "comprise" and several spelling and grammar mistakes. These continue throughout the book in varying degrees. (The chapters, I think, were written by different authors, but the styles were not unified, so quality varies.) In addition, the figures lack a consistent format and are clearly borrowed from other publications, with bad effect. In several cases, the figures are black and white copies of color originals, and the loss of detail is nearly complete. It is not apparent whether any original figures were developed for this book.

Some of content is conspicuously absent, too. For example, I was hoping to find a well written explanation of the different types of Stirling engines, and on the web, I have found many refences to alpha, beta, gamma, and delta types. While different engine types are explained, this naming scheme is not covered.

In general, I would not reccommend this book because of the sloppy editing and nearly useless figures. While it does present a good amount of material, there are some absences and the ever present typos making reading it a chore.

The copy of this book that I own is a manuscript copy, and so I cannot speak to the existence of the editing shortcomings described in other reviews. Furthermore it was given to me by the principal author, so if that biases this review then so be it.
However, I have to give a higher rating than just 2 stars. The book gives a very balanced review of the then current state of Stirling development, and gives clearheaded predictions as to what applications may develop, and what technical improvements are needed.
I particularly liked the section that dealt with the advantages and disadvantages of Stirling machines vs other alternatives. That section is of vital importance to people who would like to do something with stirling engines because it points out where to find the tiger in the grass, waiting to devour the unsuspecting hobbyist/engine builder.

It is not a book with much if any math or analysis, or detailed design information.

I thought that this book was an excellent synopsis of drug delivery. It included several versitile approaches and some detailed explanations of various procedures. I only wished the there was a longer and more detailed introductory chapter that explained the problems one faces when trying to establish a viable methodolgy. I also think it would have been beneficial to see more extensive calculations.

This is a translation of the German version of the book, making it hard to read and even harder to understand. Much of the book centers on theoretical calculations that have little to do with the actual application of vacuum theory to real life chemical processes. After ten years in the industry, I find the explainations of the operation of the pumps confusing and of little use. I would recommend this book only to someone wanting to design a new pump or who has a lot of time to try to figure out what the translation really means. Maybe the original in German is better.