Industrial Books

Dr. Beach's Survival Guide is a terrific book that really hits the mark! The book is small, informative, easy to read, and adroitly uses simple but effective diagrams and charts to relay concepts to the reader. I would think that this guide is a "must read" for anyone contemplating a beach vacation. The book addresses widely-held beach mythology and clarifies many misconceptions about beaches, waves, currents, common beach dangers (such as sharks, etc.), and a host of other related topics. Seldom can you purchase such a wealth of information at such a reasonable price. This book should be on every out-doorsman's bookshelf!

This is another excellent book from Dr. Beach, one of the country's foremost authorities on coastal processes. This book is a fine introduction to the hazards at the beach. His chapter on rip currents is especially interesting and informative. Anyone who ventures onto the beach and into the water should read this section in order to recognize the telltale signs of a rip current.

If you're a regular beach-goer like I am, this little book is a gold mine. Although not big, it's filled with interesting information about beaches, sharks, and other things that can mess up your beach vacation. While the shark section is a real eye-opener, its all the details about how beaches really work that I liked most. Who would have thought there would be so much to know about our favorite summer vacation spots? I guess if anyone would know about beaches, it's Dr. Beach! This is a great little book that's now a permanent part of my beach gear.

This book is full of interesting info and useful tidbits about the dangers and hazards of going to the beach. Some of this I already knew, but much of it was new. For example, when I was growing up in L.A. as a beach bum, I learned that you can spot riptides by standing on the cliff or getting a little elevation, such as by climbing up a lifeguard stand, and looking for a triangle of white water pointing out to sea. They could be anywhere from 50 feet wide to hundreds of yards wide, but they were detectable if you knew what to look for. I also learned that most sharks don't like the murky water where the waves are breaking and stirring up the sand, and to head for that if there was trouble. Better yet, just get out of the water. I learned how to recognized each shark species by their fins and which ones to get out of the water if they appeared, such as bluefins, which are also known man-eaters in addition to the infamous great whites. Interestingly enough, technically great whites are only "man-biters" rather than mean-eaters. They usually bite humans by mistake looking for seals, their favorite food, and so spit it out. Of course, that's not much consolation to the person at that point. Some of these attacks are because a swimmer in a wet suit looks a lot like a seal with their dark, blubbery skin. It's also probably not a good idea to decorate the bottom and sides of your sea kayak with pictures of seals, as I saw once. :-)

Having been at the beach many times and body-surfed some pretty big waves occasionally, I've had a few harrowing experiences myself. I once had the experience of being in an undertoe that actually pulled me underneath the water, but only for about 5 seconds. It was still a little scary. One time I stupidly tried to ride an 18-foot wave and almost got killed because the wave was what the Aussies call "a dumper" and it smashed me on the bottom. You should avoid fast-breaking dumpers because of that. I think the biggest wave that's safe to ride for most people is probably about 10 feet, unless you've got a belly board, which can outrun the break. Wearing one swim fin (yes, only one is needed, because it's inconvenient to have two fins on) is a trick experienced body-surfers use, that's also helpful for catching waves. Back in the 60's, I saw TV footage of this crazy guy belly-boarding 30-foot waves at Waimea. Talk about guts.

The beach that's the king of the riptides is Sunset Beach in Hawaii. Many people have died there because of rips, and it's capable of pulling you under, too. Once it pulled 3 surfers under at the same time, who unfortunately drowned. One thing to remember is if you "wipe out," be sure to tuck and roll up into a ball. One thing that happens to tourists and neophytes at Sunset is that when they go "over the falls," they don't tuck and then get slammed face first into the bottom, breaking their necks. This happened recently to a young couple that was on their honeymoon, and it's happened a number of times to inexperienced swimmers and body-surfers before. So be careful about that.

Speaking of getting pulled under, I once had the idea for a little invention, a small oxygen cylinder that would weigh maybe 5 or 10 pounds max but that would contain enough air to allow you to breath for a few minutes, if you were going swimming or body- surfing, especially at a potentially dangerous beach like Sunset. Not sure if it would be practical, but I never did follow up on it to find out. But there were a number of times when I wiped out on a big wave and didn't get to take a full breath before I got slammed under, and then I got held down for 20-30 seconds or so, or had to stay down that long because of other breaking waves, and I was almost out of air a couple of times before I was able to surface, and that would have been nice to have.

Another odd fact is that the reason why your feet itch after a day at the beach, at least on western U.S. beaches. It's not because of the hot sand and the salt water. It's because of the pieces of jellyfish, especially man-'o-war, that wash up on the beach, and can still irritate your feet even after days on the sand.

Well, if I haven't scared you off completely from going to the beach again, this is a great little book to learn about all the hazards and dangers. Good luck and happy beach-going!

It was little late, but this was so~~~cheap, so I was safisfied with that.

I am fortunate enough to have met Ms. Elaine Stone herself and find her style to be that of great elegance, sophistication, grace, and poshness. She is by far the most fashionable person I have yet to meet. Reading The Dynamics of Fashion as my textbook for my FM114 class I found it very informant and recommend it to everyone, even those who are not a student of fashion.

This book is an excellent tool for all fashion students, or those just interested in learning more about the #1 money making industry in the U.S. Information on topics ranging from textiles to merchandising to cosmetics to retailing, and so much more. Very detailed, lots of pictures, helpful internet resources, glossary, and also the authors list of her 100 top apparel designers starting at Adolfo, ending at Yohji Yamamoto. This book was very helpful to me when I took the class Introduction to Fashion Merchandising.

I am fortunate enough to have met Ms. Elaine Stone herself and find her style to be that of great elegance, sophistication, grace, and poshness. She is by far the most fashionable person I have yet to meet. Reading The Dynamics of Fashion as my textbook for my FM114 class I found it very informant and recommend it to everyone, even those who are not a student of fashion.

This was an outstanding peice of literature. It was informative and overwhelming with information. The book vividly portrayed the Early American Industrial Revolution. It is a great source. Overall, it was an amazing book.

This book was mad interesting! Fun for the whole family. It was informative, short, and to the point. It had tons of interesting information about the Early American Industrial Revolution. It was such a cool book. I couldn't put i down, it was a page turner.

This book can be described as a history of the Industrial Revolution focusing primarily on the United States during the nineteenth century and on the change from an agrarian society to one based on machines and factories. This book is very informative. I am a future teacher and plan on using this book while working in the field with my fifth grade class as we learn about the industrial revolution. I also recomend this book to parents who are homeschooling or to anyone who wants to learn more about the Industrial Revolution.

The Early American Industrial Revolution, 1793-1850 (Let Freedom Ring: The New Nation) certainly does not seem like a history book to many of its readers. Its extensive use of subtle transitions between anecdotal stories and factual evidence truely makes the reader feel as if he's no longer living in the 21st century, but rather, has entered into an entirely new world of the Industrial Revolution. However, the book fails to describe fully certain key elements inherent to the Industrial Revolution. I would definately recommend this book to people who are interested in understanding a general concept of how the Industrial Revolution changed the course of American development, rather than those interested in a lenghty, confusing, tangent-bearing book.

Anyone involved in city planning or anyone that lives in a city should read this. Power of Proximity!

Here is an ambitious remit. Register gives a history of the development of cities. And he offers suggestions for what he calls eco-modern designs. That attempt to minimise energy consumption and maximise biodiversity. The former is an obvious laudable aim for any city and its occupants. Rising energy costs, due in part to ever increasing global industrialisation, can adversely affect everyone in a city. Reducing consumption is shown to involve such trends as more energy efficient cars.

But he also advocates a greater biodiversity within cities. More gardens, including on rooftops. Multiple benefits are offered. A more pleasant recreational environment. And reduced cooling costs for buildings.

Register offers a light leftist approach. He does not seem anticapitalist, unlike some radical environmentalists.

EcoCities is a book I have returned to repeatedly and discovered new insights every time. Register is no utopian dreamer; he's addressing real problems in contemporary urban design and land use patterns that cannot be sustained in a lower-energy future. Register's personality comes through loud and clear in his writing--this is no dry treatment of the subject.

Through this book, Register helps us to envision with some specificity what urban landscapes light on automobiles but rich in biodiversity could look like. It's as if he's illustrating a series of before and after treatments of various spaces, but the before picture is now and the after is a future yet to be realized. Highly recommended reading for anyone who wants to help actively design their built environment towards sustainability.

Along with books like Natural Capitalism and Cradle to Cradle, Ecocities takes its place among the most important environmental tomes of our day. In a nutshell, Richard Register's vision (replete with a plan to get us there) could transform our world. In fact a structural response like ecocities (and smart growth) may be the best tools available to bring us to our only destination, sustainability. In his thoughtful book, Register waxes poetic on the environmental crisis we face, shares a grand vision for addressing the crisis -- while simultaneously improving our everyday lives -- and wraps it up with a road map for getting there. His many illustrations spark the imagination and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. If you haven't read it, just do. Buy this important book now.

¿Que hacer? ¿Que podemos hacer: trabajadores, agricultores, jóvenes-- viviendo todas las consecuencias de la creciente crisis capitalista? ¿Y cómo hacerlo juntos, y no en formas aisladas e ineficaces?
Este libro contiene muchas materiales para estudiar, aprender y aprovechar sobre estas cuestiones tan importantes. Se trata sobre todo de experiencias de trabajadores socialistas en Estados Unidos, pero las lecciones son bien relevantes en cualquier parte del mundo. ¡Un libro de historia y de acción obrera!
Analiza el desarrollo de la sociedad capitalista desde los años 70, el impacto de los movimientos de mases para los derechos civiles del pueblo negro y los chicanos, las luchas reivindicando igualdad para las mujeres, la lucha en contra la guerra norteamericana en Vietnam. También ricas experiencias de lucha obrera: la huelga nacional de los mineros de carbón, la lucha para organizar el astillero Newport News y más. Y cuestiones de tácticas y estrategias para organizarse: relaciones entre obreros de conciencia de clase y la burocracia sindical, propaganda y agitación, organización y formación de un partido de vanguardia de los trabajadores.
Me gusta mucho la sección de fotos, que presenta imágenes vivos de los seres humanos envueltos en distintas luchas del pueblo trabajador.
¡Léalo y compártelo con otros compañeros y compañeras!

To understand the world you need this book. Since the middle
1970s life for working people in the US has been the ups and downs of attacks on our standards of living, little depressions,booms,more attacks, more wars, racism, even threats of fascism, a stock market crash, and now a looming world economic
crisis. The documents assembled in this book from the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s chart this development from the standpoint of the Socialist Workers Party. Just as importantly, they chart the lessons and strategies of building a working class response to
this change, and the creative experience of the SWP in building a revolutionary workers party into the twenty-first century. Some day this book will rank with Lenin's What is to be Done, Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution, and Cannon's Struggle for a proletarian party among the tools socialist workers use to change the world

To understand the world you need this book. Since the middle
1970s life for working people in the US has been the ups and downs of attacks on our standards of living, little depressions,
booms,more attacks, more wars, racism, even threats of fascism, a stock market crash, and now a looming world economic
crisis. The documents assembled in this book from the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s chart this development from the standpoint
of the Socialist Workers Party. Just as importantly, they chart the lessons and strategies of building a working class response to this change, and the creative experience of the SWP in building a revolutionary workers party into the twenty-first century. Some day this book will rank with Lenin's What is to be Done, Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution, and Cannon's Struggle for a proletarian party among the tools socialist workers use to change the worl

El sindicato es demasiado débil. La dirección es un amigo del patrón.
Toda la gente se queda con los que hablan su lengua y en la cafetería no
se mezclan con los demás. Uno quiere luchar junto por los demás, a favor
de todos los trabajadores, ¿pero cuando vamos unir? Este libro es un
manual para los decidios a tomar un próximo paso. Plantea como debemos
ser internacionalistas; pensar y actuar en términos internacionales;
usar, cambiar y transformar nuestros sindicatos en armas políticas y
sociales en contra todos los súper ricos. Tenemos que construir la
unidad de todos las "razas", entre hombres y mujeres, entre los
inmigrantes y los trabajadores "nacidos en los Estados Unidos". Sobre
todo, tenemos que construir el partido revolucionario de los
trabajadores más consciente y más solidario de todos. El premio para
este proceso es un futuro realmente humano: tomar el poder político, tal
como los trabajadores cubanos hicieron hace más de 40 años -pero aquí en
las entrañas de la bestia imperial yanqui-. Esto es un libro por cada
trabajador y trabajadora consciente.

I first found this book in a dumpster behind a school. I was 6 years old and read this book. Many of the concepts were easy enough to understand as a youngster. I will never forget the concept of 3phase electricity that I grasped from that book. Thanks to this book I have put instrumentation on the International Space Station and work with Femtosecond laser systems.
Thank you Harry Mileaf! Well done.

Clearly, logically organised with the best illustrations and supporting, explanatory text. Worth every cent. A masterpiece!

Suited for study of basic electricity. The book provides excellent illustrations. Have written competency based individualized lessons for major portions of the book.

I'm a power plant operator. I've had to take basic electricity courses for job promotions, (after taking a written test). This is the only book written (that my co-workers and I have had to study) that you can learn from on your own. The other books seemed to be written for a classroom setting, with an instructor.

Years ago (many, many years...) I was an electronics hobbyist, and I even worked at Radio Shack. Recently, I came across some of my old "toys" and wanted to see what was going on in the world of electronics projects these days. A big fan of the "Dummies" books, I saw this title and took a shot.

At first I was a little dismayed to find that there were only ten or so projects, and looking at them they all seemed pretty lame. But once I studied them I realized that these ten, fairly simple projects, were perfect examples of so many different concepts that were easily adoptable and transportable to many other uses, more like what I had in mind.

Basically with these few projects you can learn about remote control, both IR and RF, speech recorder chips, speech synthesis chips, LED sequencing, light activated controls, motion activated controls, robotic propulsion, and even basics of radios and amplifiers, all using modern, easily obtainable parts.

And in additon to great content, the writers have a great style, using an approach and language that is easily understandable to beginners but meaty enough for experts.

If you are interested in an excellent book to give you a wide introduction to many different electronic concepts, this is the book for you!

If you're into electronics projects, this book gives you 10 great ones to play with-my favorite was the line-following go-kart that uses an optical sensor. The projects are well organized with parts lists and easy to read schematics. I especially like the clear explanations and the easy going writing style. My only complaint is there weren't more projects-where's the sequel?

This book is well written and packed with fun, interesting electronics projects. This book provides a great hands-on way to learn the basics of electronics, how to set up your workspace, read circuits and get familiar with electronics components, especially for someone like me who is nervous about electrical things.

I am a hands on handyman type of person. Electronics have always been something I have avoided because I felt it was too complicated. It delt with something, electrons, that I couldn't see or touch. Not like nails, pipes or wood etc. Saw the book and thought that I would give it a quick look. I now own it. It is funny, informative, covers more than just the basics. The book stresses fun and safety.
I may not build my own computer, but I will build my own Go-Cart. If you have a problem you can actually contact the Authors at [...]

Back many, many years ago, when the earth was flat and the sun went around the earth, I built a whole series of crystal radios. It seemed to me that something was lost when everything electronic became a chip and nearly everything you could imagine was made in Japan.

Now all of a sudden comes along this book. No, alas, there's not a crystal radio in it, but there's a short wave radio that's made with three chips. The complexity of the circuits is about the same as the old crystal sets. And the thrill of listening to WWV tell you the time as to be about the same as listening to the local radio station on the crystal set the first time.

There are quite a number of projects suitable for science fairs and the like. Come to think of it, building one of those electronic compasses from page 178 might be a good project even for an old kid of my advanced age.

Also great reference for the rest of us. As a robotics enthusiast, I found the subject of this manual to be of intense interest. After receiving the book, I was further amazed by the inspiring variety and depth of the coverage of the subject matter. MacGyver would have loved this book! For best results, I would recommend that reader has at least a basic knowledge in electronics.
Whether your intention is to give 5 senses to your robotics project, build your own weather station, or build a paranormal detection device, you're well on your way with this compilation.

Interesting collection of projects that require more than a simple trip to the Radio Shack to build. Each project has considerable scientific background information not just an electrical schematic and parts list. Many of the projects would make worthwhile science fair projects or other amateur science pursuits.

I own several books by the author, and like his other books, this one is focused on construction details and how each particular circuit works, along with datasheets, as opposed to theory. So if you are looking for the theory of operation on individual sensors, I think you will be disappointed. However, if you are just looking for interesting projects to build, this book is full of good ideas for circuits. The projects range from the more simple and inexpensive, such as the overtemperature alarm, to the more complex and costly advanced electronic ion chamber. If you want a good book on sensors and the theory behind them you might try Fraden's recent edition of "Handbook of Modern Sensors". I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents so I do that here:
Chapter 1: Audio Projects
Electronic stethoscope
Underwater hydrophone
Ultrasonic listener
Chapter 2: Light Detection & Measurement
Opto Listener
Basic radiometer
Digital ultraviolet radiometer
Digital ozone-meter
Sensitive optical tachometer
Chapter 3: Heat Sensing
Infrared flame detector
Freeze alarm
Over-temperature alarm
Analog data-logger system
LCD thermometer
Infrared motion detector
Chapter 4: Fluid Sensing
Rain detector
Fluid sensor
Fluid/water level indicator
Humidity monitor
pH meter
Chapter 5: Gas Sensing
Air pressure switch
Electronic sniffer
Combustible gas sensor
Electronic barometer
Chapter 6: Vibration Monitoring
Vibration hour monitor
Vibration alarm
Piezo seismic alarm
Research seismograph
Chapter 7: Magnetic Detection
Mag-Ear amplifier
ELF monitor
Electronic compass
Earth field magnetometer
Chapter 8: Sensing Electric Fields
Electroscope
Static tube
Simple electronic electroscope
Atmospheric electricity monitor
Cloud charge monitor
Chapter 9: Radio Projects
Lightning detector
ELF natural radio
Shortwave receiver
Jupiter radio telescope
Chapter 10: Radiation Detection
Cloud chamber
Low cost electronic ion chamber I
Advanced electronic ion chamber II
Geiger Counter
Appendix A: Helpful Contact Information
Appendix B: Data Sheets

This book is wonderful. The pictures bring back a time in our country's history that was hopeful and expansive - a nice antidote to today's closed attitudes. Anyone with an interest in American history and the story of one our momumental achievements should have this book. P.S. Children love this book too -- my two sons take it off the shelf almost every night!

I like architecture. I like buildings. And I adore The Empire State building in New York City. (as if I need to mention location) This is an informative book by Mr. Doherty and others giving us a detailed view into dreams coming to life of the then tallest building in the world. How it was built, human drama behind the scenes, how fast it went up---4 stories a week, the limestone that was only brought in from Indiana, and other fascinating information.

With a glossary, index, photo's of helmeted men in 1930---daringly straddling beams above a floor of cement doom, one can relive visiting this icon or enjoy true anticipation of using one of its 73 elevators to reach for the heavens on an open aired viewing floor where everything from weddings to arm wrestling competitions take place.

Did you know they began using outdoor lights due to an aircraft bomber, lost in the fog and crashing into her 79th floor back in the 40's? And now, one can see it adorned with special lit colors--Blue was done as a tribute to Frank Sinatra, Blue & White for Churchill, and Gold for the Pope.

Yes, the building that may now not be the tallest, will forever hold a special place in our hearts. As seen in many movies, from King Kong to Sleepless In Seattle, we can step back and wonder who is behind those 6,000 windows ( you might spot Donald Trump, he owns part of her now ) and wistfully sigh at the romance of it all.

other reading suggestions: "The Majesty of the French Quarter" by Kerri McCaffety

--CDS--

The sixty-five photographs in this book are probably the best of the thousand Lewis Hine took during the construction of the Empire State Building. Several are now the standard image used to depict industrial output during the Depression and rightly so. Hine concentrates on the workers rather than the actual building and you can see just how precarious some of their activity is. Years before hardhats and workman's comp hundreds of seasoned craftsmen managed to erect a building nearly a quarter of a mile high in 410 days and weighing 365,000 tons.

Author Freddy Langer writes an interesting short essay about Lewis Hine explaining how he became interested in using photography to expose the exploitation of child labor during the early years of the last century. These photos were used in his book 'Kids at Work' (ISBN 0395797268). His interest in photographing the workplace got him the commission to record the building of the Empire State and some of these images also appeared in his 1932 book 'Men at Work' (ISBN 0486234754).

It is a shame that the book does not give more explanation to what the craftsmen are doing in the photos. A book that does have photos (though not by Hine) and detailed captions is 'Building the Empire State' (ISBN 0393730301) edited by Carol White, it reproduces seventy-seven pages of typewritten description, some of it quite technical, that someone at Starrett Brothers, the builders, produced as a record of the construction.

The Empire State was in competition with the Chrysler Building and a book by David Stravitz, 'The Chrysler Building' (ISBN 1568983549) is a week-by-week photographic construction record of Van Allen's Art Deco masterpiece with detailed captions to the pictures. Strangely many of Hine's photos clearly show the Chrysler Building in the background.

All three books celebrate the building of two stunning New York skyscrapers.

Pictures that are not well known, but warm the heart

Excellent reference resources. Good pictures and discussion. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the development of armored vehicles.

My husband is infatuated with army tanks (and anything else related to)from WW I and WW II. There is not a week that goes by that he is not reading about the war or watching the Military Channel. If you have any interest in the war, this book is very informative and the photographs are very well preserved. Educational at best!

Two outstanding references are top picks, packing in pages of value for their price tags and providing a wide-ranging history. Chris Bishop edits ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TANKS & ARMORED FIGHTING VEHICLES FROM WW I TO THE PRESENT DAY (159223626X): an exhaustive reference that may appeal to general readers, but is a special pick for military collections. Over 300 tanks and vehicles are presented in a pairing of vintage and action photos and detailed drawings, with descriptions including extensive and in-depth service histories of specs and tanks.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is truly a complete encyclopedia of Tanks from WWI to the Present Day. I own the Christopher Foss encyclopedia (Nov. 2002) and this encyclopedia is a lot more updated than that volume. For example, there is a lot more information and more recent photographs on the latest Chinese MBT, the type 98 tank. This volume also describes the latest Merkava Mk 4 tank. The most recent Russian tank, the type 90 is given a lot fuller treatment.

What I enjoyed the most are the wonderful photographs / color plates and descriptions for each tank and AFV. Notable tanks are given a feature article, such as the Panther, the Sherman, the Centurion, the Challenger I, the Abrams Tank, etc. I really enjoyed some of the feature articles that described the combat performance of these notable tanks. For example, for both the British Challenger I and the Abrams tanks, there was a brief feature article about how each performed during the 1st Gulf War.

Besides covering tanks, this reference also describes the various armored personnel carriers, light tanks, motorized gun carriages, along with specialized vehicles.

It is truly a monumental work. Tank buffs and modelers will love this reference!