tce

BOOK REVIEW

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The Engineering Book

Marshall Brain; ISBN: 13:9781454908098; Sterling; 528pp; 25
RATING:
BEST FEATURE: This book will get young people interested in engineering
WORST FEATURE: Too much focus on modern milestones
This book aims to provide an overview of engineering achievements that is accessible to
the general public in order to provoke interest. It tries to introduce people who are not
knowledgeable about engineering to its many and varied achievements. To accomplish this,
the author uses a picturebook format where an engineering milestone is briefly discussed
and has an accompanying high quality illustration.
The descriptions concisely reflect the topic in hand and the pictures add the glitz. Many
different areas of engineering are covered and the chronological order gives a sense of
progression. By no means is this a book of technical fortitude so a reference section provides the
ability to study specific milestones further.
However, there may be something more here. Across the world on the bookshelves and coffee tables of expats, one
type of book that often stands out is a book of home. A book of pictures, that gives an impression of a place left but not
forgotten. In many respects, this offers a similar experience but one devoted to engineering achievements rather than
natural landscapes.
As with any book of this type, experts can suggest better descriptions and pictures and different examples but this
is not a book for experts. It is a difficult book to rate for engineers due to its limited scope for discussion. However, I
think a book like this will get younger people interested in the discipline. Certainly it would not be out of place on the
shelf of career guidance professionals. But even for the engineers among us, there might be some affection hidden
between its pages.
Donough Shanahan, AMIChemE, process engineer, Tata Steel

Advanced Thermodynamics for Engineers,

Second Edition
Desmond Winterbone and Ali Turan; ISBN: 9780444633736; Butterworth-Heinemann; 578pp; 95
RATING:
BEST FEATURE: Thorough coverage of the combustion phenomenon and introduction to
advanced topics such as pinch technology and fuel cells.
WORST FEATURE: Minimal coverage on thermodynamic models including the absence of
advanced models such as statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT).
Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering. As the title
suggests, the book goes beyond the basic themes and introduces the reader to a few advanced
topics.
The book is best suited for mechanical engineers with some fundamental background in
thermodynamics and in the process of implementing their know-how in the industry. Each
chapter provides an excellent set of worked examples.
The combustion phenomenon is covered thoroughly from various angles, including thermodynamics, chemistry,
and kinetics. The inadequate coverage of thermodynamics topics mostly unique to chemical engineers such as
phase diagram and thermodynamic models is easily noticeable.
The initial part of the book goes over the basics of thermodynamics starting with the Zeroth law. The theoretical
framework and fundamentals to help problem formulation is presented well. The incorporation of topics such as
pinch technology and fuel cells is of practical importance. The problem set accompanied by the book is well thought
out and impressive.
Arnab Chakrabarty, AMIChemE, director, process technology at VerdeEn Chemicals and visiting researcher
Texas A & M University.

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www.thechemicalengineer.com october 2015