Overall, this is very good way to start thermodynamics, especially if this is the first time encountering thermo. However, if to continue to take more thermo, this book focuses main on engineering rather than other disciplines.

19 of 24 found the following review helpful:


Acceptable but Annoying  Sep 04, 2006 By Redmond Geek
This text is a fairly standard treatment of classical (macroscopic) thermodynamics. It is targeted specifically at students of mechanical engineering. Anyone going into some other engineering discipline that depends on thermo (e.g., chem eng) -- or into one of the hard sciences (physics, biophys, biochem, chemistry, etc.) -- will get very little value from this book. Its main focus seems to be on the use of the right formula to solve specific kinds of problems. ("Plug and chug.")

There are many annoying things about this book. Perhaps the worst are the contrived "special topics" sections. These are an attempt by the authors to bring some kind of real-world relevance to their subject matter. These might also be called "Thermodynamics in Everyday Life." The concept is good, but the execution falls flat on it face. A few examples:

* 12 pages on dieting advice and recipes.

* 10 pages on choosing an automobile and driving it so as to maximize mileage.

* A long and detailed description of the method of electrically stunning, slaughtering, and freezing chickens.

* Several pages on the disadvantages of saying angry things to your co-workers (it increases "social entropy").

All-in all, these "special topics" fill about 20% of the book's total page count. The book would have been clearer, shorter, and presumably less expensive without them; it would also have killed fewer trees - another topic the authors devoted a "special topic" section to.

The artwork in the book is pathetic as well. The majority of it seems to be 2-D vector images taken from a freebie clipart collection. This alternates with some "Dagwood and Blondie" cartoons where (apparently) the authors have replaced the contents of the dialog baloons with clever sayings about thermodynamics.

In summary, this is a very irritating book to use. The level of information not very deep, and all the "good stuff" is hidden away between discussions of salad dressing and frozen chicken carcasses. There's got to be something better out there.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


Meh, its thermo  Mar 08, 2010 By Timothy D. Ulmen
Books do not need to be updated every year. . . the three laws are always the same.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:


Good Fundamentals, comprehensive  Jul 13, 2009 By Rishi Agrawal
The book is great at covering the fundamentals. There are plenty of examples and the material is well explained. The CD that comes with the book was also a GREAT supplement. The CD has concise explanations that are simpler and quicker to understand.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:


Becareful!! International ed  Oct 30, 2008 By Peanut Butter Engineer
Okay, I always bought international editions when I can get it cheaper, but!! BE CAREFUL this international edition the content is same but home work problems and solutions are mixed SO ARE NOT IDENTICAL TO THE US EDITION.

When I turn in my first homework assignment, everything was wrong because this book have problems that are different than the US edition.

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