36

BOOK REVIEW

FUNDAMENTALS OF EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

by N. M . Newmark and E• Rosenblueth

(Prentice Hall, 1 9 7 1 , 6^0 Pages)

T h o s e f a m i l i a r w i t h N e w m a r k • s and Rosen- text is l i k e l y to r e t a i l in N e w Z e a l a n d at

b l u e th s v e r y c o n s i d e r a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n to
1
earthquake engineering looked forward with great
i n t e r e st to thi s f i r s t c o m p r e h e n s i v e text b o o k
d e a l i n g w i t h the s u b j e c t as an i n t e g r a t e d
whole. R e a d e r s c a n n o t be o t h e r t h a n i m p r e s s e d
b y the s k i l l a n d c a r e d e v o t e d to the c o m p l e t e ,
u n i f i e d a n d t o p i c a l t r e a t m e n t of e a r t h q u a k e
engineering principles.
around $30.00. E v e n at t h i s p r i c e it w i l 1
be f o u n d i n d i s p e n s a b l e by a l l p r a c t i s i n g
e n g i n e e r s w h o a r e s e r i o u s l y e n g a g e d in
sei s m i c re si s t a n t de s i g n .
T h e a u t h o r s a r e to b e c o n g r a t u l a t e d in
f i 1 1 i n g a g a p in t h e t e c h n i c a l l i t e r a t u r e w i t h
s u c h an a u t h o r i t a t i v e , ye t r e a d a b l e , t e x t .

P a r t I is d e v o t e d to d y n a m i c s . Chapters
on Simple Linear Systems, Linear Systems with
S e v e r a l D e g r e e s of Freedom, Linear S y s t e m s
with Distributed Mass, Numerical Computation
a n d N o n - l i n e a r S y s t e m s p r e c e d e one on
R. Shepherd
Hydrodynamics. E a c h p r e sent s t h e f u n d a m e n t a l
c o n c e p t s a n d m a t h e m a t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t in a
r e a d i l y f o l l o w e d f o r m , but w i t h b o t h t h e
e m p h a s i s and t h e e x a m p l e s o r i e n t a t e d to
earthquake engineering applications. Part I
includes illustrative problems and their
s o l u t i o n s at t h e e n d of e a c h c h a p t e r . The
c o n t e n t a n d f o r m of t h i s sect ion of t h e b o o k
m a k e it e x t r e m e l y v a l u a b l e a s a r e c o m m e n d e d
text for a civil engineering d y n a m i c s course
at s e n i o r u n d e r g r a d u a t e or g r a d u a t e l e v e l .

P a r t II c o n t a i n s c h a p t e r s d e v o t e d to
earthquake m o t i o n s , dynamic structural effects
a n d the c o n c e p t s e s s e n t i a l to the d e s i g n of
earthquake resistant structures. C h a p t e r s on
Earthquake Characteristies, Seismicity,
P r o b a b i l i t y D i s t r i b u t i o n s of R e s p o n s e S p e c t r a
O r d i n a t e s a n d R e s p o n s e s of L i n e a r a n d N o n -
linear Systems are included. A particularly
g o o d s e c t i o n on t h e b e h a v i o u r of M a t e r i a l s
(including Soils) and Structural Components
u n d e r E a r t h q u a k e L o a d i n g leads into Part III
o f the b o o k c o v e r i n g D e s i g n ,

In thi s f i n a l p o r t i o n b o t h b a s i c c o n c e p t s
a n d p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s of e a r t h q u a k e
resistant d e s i g n are presented. Codes are
e x a m i n e d a n a de s i g n d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g i s d i s -
cussed. In a d d i t i o n to the m o r e u s u a l
b u i l d i n g s t r u c t u r e s , r e f e r e n c e i s m a d e to
Towers, Stacks, Bridges, Retaining Structures,
T u n n e l s and P i p e s .

A c o m p r e h e n s i v e r e f e r e n c e 1i st is
i n c l u d e d in a d d i t i o n to a p p e n d i c e s c o v e r i n g
the c a l c u l a t i o n of d y n a m i c p a r a m e t e r s from
n a t u r a l m o d e s o f v i b r a t i o n a n d d e t a i l s of t h e
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.

T h e r e v i e w e r k n o w s of no o t h e r c o m p a r a b l e
s i n g l e s o u r c e of e a r t h q u a k e e n g i n e e r i n g
fundamentals. C o n s e q u e n t l y thi s b o o k i s
l i k e l y to be r e c o m m e n d e d r e a d i n g f o r a l l
e a r t h q u a k e e n g i n e e r i n g cour se s. Its
p r o d u c t i o n i s c o n si s t e n t w i t h the h i g h
s t a n d a r d of t o p r a n k e d N o r t h A m e r i c a n
technical publi shers. Newmark and R o s e n b l u e t h * s