Fundamentals of Computational Fluid Dynamics is one of several technically useful books on the subject. What sets it apart, however, is its ability to attract and maintain the reader's interest in what could otherwise be a dry topic.

The authors walk the student through a logical development of all aspects of the material. Helpful examples and end-of-chapter exercises solidify student learning in a practical manner. This book is an excellent resource, focusing on the fundamentals of the topic, and has my full recommendation.

I left the field of physics twenty years ago, and as a graduate physicist I am now doing social science research into information systems. But I like to stay informed about current developments in physics. And certainly a unified theory of the fundamental forces of nature is attracting a lot of attention from both specialists and laymen alike. I knew that gauge theories are important for a unified theory, and nobody interested in physics could escape the renewed interest through the awarding of the 1999 Nobel Prize in physics to Veltman and 't Hooft. So I bought this classic text of Chris Quigg. Many popular books on modern physics (e.g. Bedersen, 1999) quote this text. By no means I was disappointed. Of course the mathematics is often difficult, but the author is starting each chapter outlining what the fundamental ideas are. And that alone makes the book a good read. The book has nine chapters, and each chapter is concluded with an assessment or a reflection on the contents, which are highly understandable. Many of the problems of 1983, when the book was published, are still open today. It is didactically very suited as textbook or reference book for those physicists wishing to specialize in high energy physics.

This has been a very useful book. It will be useful for the beginner or the professional. As with many of Mr. Vizard's books, it easily understood and very detailed. I have already had very rewarding results and still have much more material to experiment with. The material is very practical and for the hands on enthusiast.

I found this book both disheartening and inspirational at the same time. Kyle at first spells out how far we have pushed technology into our culture and our lives, creating a monolithic machine-system that drives our reality and daily lives. And then he shares his ideas of the new imagination that can emerge from the alienating and destructive structure of this machine-culture, allowing for a return to a connectedness to the natural world and to each other.

This book is insightful, well written and researched, and an important read for anyone wishing to delve deeper into our technology-obsessed culture that is moving into the next millenium.

Ok, for all those of you out there who always wanted to learn the math that you need to know to be able to do some really fun physics, THIS IS IT! Most introductions to "higher mathematics" tend to be rather impractical and largely useless and uninteresting topics (to the physical scientist) such as set theory or abelian group theory, but this book really delivers. The emphasis is on working out problems . . . there is some theory, but this is really meant for engineers and physicists rather than for mathematicians who are interested in theory alone. You need a very solid grounding in first year calculus before you even think of beginning this course. But once you get going, the topics that are introduced include: multiple integrals, vectors, differential forms (including tensors), and continues in this fashion until the last chapters on electromagnetics, celestial mechanics and special relativity. Now, this is not an easy book, but unlike many math texts that I have seen, it is by no means impossible to learn all own your own. Thus, if something that really interest you in the classroom is not covered, then this book would make a great supplement. It is superb for self-study and contains most of what you need to know to begin studying real physics and more advanced paractical mathematics. I can't thank Dr. Bressoud enough for writing this much-needed book! I only wish that I could give in ten stars instead of only five!

This is an elegant and short, yet comprehensive, account of analytical mechanics that ties the whole subject from classical physics to quantum mechanics into a conceptual unity. Opening with an Irish tale of the shaggy steed, the work derives all the basics of the Langrangian and Hamiltonian with dispatch and has a quality of brevity and completeness that is remarkable, perhaps due to the nature of the subject matter itself, in the elegant enigmas of the 'action principle'. This field not being my specialty (an understatement), and after beating a hasty retreat to the Schaum outline of Lagrangian Mechanics for some quick refresher calisthenics I was able to scratchpad my way into a birdseye view of the subject, in a way that threw a new light on the genesis of Quantum Mechanics, the grandchild of these novel formulations of physics using their 'maths with a wallop' that began appearing in the generations after Newton. For crackshots in this field the more advanced material on invariants and Noether's theorem bind the material into a still deeper splendid unity. Amazing book.

As Y.C. Fung put it, biomechanics is a field characterized by a vagueness of definitions and abundance of literature. I was feeling hopelessly lost trying to get a handle on both the engineering aspects and biological phenomena. Martin and Burr have summarized the entire field very efficiently. It would help if you have a previous background in solid mechanics, but even that has been explained in a simple fashion. The exercises at the end are what attracted me most. They look very similar to actual problems in research and doing them sincerely is sure to enhance your understanding and appreciation of the field. A must have for the researcher/Grad.student in biomechanics/bioengineering.

This could serve as a text book in the future if Yoga is taught at an University. Very, very technical; not at all light reading but if you have some inclination to know how Yoga asanas affect the physical body, this is a great book. By any stretch of motivation, you can't read all of it in one go; it is best a reference when you want more information teaching a specific asana.

The reading is well oraganized into different categories of the postures; an in depth reading on the anatomy of breathing is the best part. For e.g., it is great to related to students what is the effect of Yogic breathing compared to the 'normal' breathing - Mr. Coutler explains how much more oxygen is retained, how much more CO2 is expelled and how much more alveoli ventilation is achieved.

All in all, it is a must for the Yoga teacher though I wish it were simpler.

This book is required for the yoga teacher training I am enrolled in. I've read it from cover to cover and I was blown away by the amount of information Coulter presents. He doesn't make references to specific schools but presents things very generally. He also doesn't use too much Sanskrit, so most yoga students shouldn't be too intimidated by the material.

The information he presents on Breathing, the importance of the Abdominopelvic muscles (or the "core muscles", as they're popularly known today) and his chapter on Forward Bends where he discusses nutation were my favorite portions. Coulter isn't doctrinaire in most cases, as is appropriate for someone discussing the anatomical aspect of yoga. He presents variations for the popular poses (forward bends, cobra, triangle, etc.) and discusses what the ramifications of the modifications are. While some are called "advanced" and some are called "beginner", it doesn't come off as a value judgment.

Because Coulter was so thorough throughout the entire book and backed up almost every statement with a logical explanation, it was noticeable when he did not. For instance, he, like almost every other author of a yoga text, recommends that women not practice inversions if they are menstruating. Why? I really hoped that someone with his background would be able to supply an explanation other than because that's the way it's been done. Also, while he spends quite a bit of time talking about the importance of the right tetrahedron for meditation postures and the various postures that can be used, I felt he glossed over the reasons why meditation has to be done sitting versus lying down. Minor quibbles, but only more obvious because the rest of the book is so meticulous.

If you are planning on teaching yoga, if you already have a yoga practice or if you're not quite convinced that yoga can do anything for your body, pick up this book.

This is a most unusual book. The author, a professor of anatomy and long-time yoga practitioner, explores, in great detail (when necessary), the human anatomy as it relates to the practice of hatha yoga. For someone such as myself who previously knew *Nothing* about human anatomy, this was a fascinating journey. If nothing else the book will teach you about anatomy, a topic you may previously have had no interest, but in the process it will deepen your knowledge of yoga. Its really well done how the author brings such a seemingly dry, technical subject to life. The author nicely groups the discussion around particular topics as they relate to yoga. For example, there are chapters on the nervous system, on breathing, and on what is happening with your hips and sacrum. Perhaps there are similar books on the market, but I suspect not. I'm reminded of Bill Graham's comment about the Grateful Dead: "They're the best in the world at what they do; they're the only ones in the world who do what they do." I suspect similar comments would apply here. Physically, the book is well produced. Considering the glossy paper used, the price of the book is quite reasonable. The are fantastic anatomic drawings that greatly add to one's understanding. Read this book, and enrich your practice of yoga.

I used this book for an introductory couse on Electromagnetics. I like books which are concise and have a lot of pictures and solved problems because I am not interested in the details which are probably more important to a Physics Major. The sample problems are a must if you want to master Electromagnetics. I found this subject very difficult and also used Schaums Outline of Electromagnetics by Edminister for additional practice problems.

I had this book as my text book in Purdue University. Frankly speaking, most people will have no clue what it is talking after reading it for the first time because this book describes electromagnetism more from a mathematical point of view. From the start it just throws hypothesis, derivations and formulae to the reader and there are few examples, therefore readers without adequate and solid background in maths(especially in vector calculus) will be quickly confused by this book and lose the big picture. This book serves nicely as a reference but if you are not that familiar in this field, I would recommend other books. One of them is 'electromagnetics' by Kraus which is not as mathematical rigorous as this book, but more readable.

Electromagnetism is a hard subject for many people, including myself. The best approach is to get a few good books on the subject rather than rely on one book. After doing a survey, I finally bought the following books suitable for my level: (i) Introductory Electromagnetics by Popovic and Popovic; (ii) Field and Wave Electromagnetics by Cheng; (iii) Electromagnetics with Applications by Kraus; (iv) Schaums Outline of Electromagnetics by Edminister. I give five stars to all these books. (There is another book which I will not review or identify, because it turned out to be unsatisfactory.)

I am reviewing these four books in one go because they are interrelated. Each of these book is strong in its own unique area.

Introductory Electromagnetics by Popovic and Popovic is the best of these book for gaining an intuitive understanding of the difficult subject of electromagnetism. Its clarity and elegance reminds me of Feynman's Lectures in Physics. Every chapter is a work of inspiration. The carefully chosen examples are designed to impart understanding of electromagnetic principles rather than calculation skills. The book is excellent for those who are new to the subject. It is also excellent for those who have already learned some electromagnetics, but who feel that their understanding is still shaky.

Field and Wave Electromagnetics by Cheng is the best of these books in terms of the mathematical development of electromagnetics. Although this approach may seem difficult at first glance, ironically the mathematical rigour makes the subject much easier to grasp. That is because mathematical precision goes a long way towards illuminating subtle principles of electromagnetism. As a result, this book, more so than any other book, has given me the confidence to handle the difficult subject of electromagnetism.

Electromagnetics With Application by Kraus is the least systematic of these books, with some of the discussions being disjoint and abrupt. It is, however, valuable for its interesting and practical examples. It is a must-have book for anyone who is serious about electromagnetism.

Schaums Outline of Electromagnetics, by Edminister, is an outstanding collection of problems and solutions, as well as summaries. It mirrors the excellence of Edminister's other Schaums Outline, namely, Electric Circuits.

In summary, these four books have different strengths, respectively the following: (i) intuitive development; (ii) systematic development; (iii) practical application; and (iv) problem solving. These books form an awesome quartet, covering all the bases, and will provide you with a good foundation for advanced studies. A useful supplement for these books is Schaums Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables.

This book is something of my bible. It's clearly written, has excellent illustrations and, above all, treats the reader with respect and intelligence. I've used this book successfully with doing large electrical projects, plumbing, sanding floors, laying out a brick garden path, and many many others. The detail provided in this book to guide you is both extensive and clear. An excellent choice that will serve you well for years to come.

I bought this book for its section on electrical wiring. I had a problem with a couple of outlets at my house, and looked at several books that dealt specifically on home electrical wiring (ie Ortho, Black & Decker, Time-life and Better Homes) Pop Mech's "Home-How-To" book in my opinion far exceeded all other books on electrical wiring. This book went into more wiring configurations than the other books and explained them in simple step by step instructions with color diagrams to help. This book also explained alot about the different circuits (120v,240v,small appliance, lighting and individual) that are in your house and required by the NEC. There is even a small section on the process of getting a permit for adding extra circuits to your house. If your completely new to electricity the first few pages in the elecrtical section explains what amps, volts, and watts mean and even how to read your electric meter. So if you are new to home wiring and just want to know how to replace a switch or outlet then this book is for you, but if you are more knowleged and want to add a indoor or outdoor circuit line with a seperate circuit breaker in your main elec box, then this book is also for you. On a last note, I must again state that I am only rating and giving a 5 star rating on its electrical section, I have not had the chance or need to read into the other chapters.

This is the only home repair book I've seen that doesn't treat the reader like an idiot. By assuming that the reader already knows how to use a hammer, the editors are able to devote far more attention to actual home repair projects. For example, this volume devotes about 8 pages to plaster repair - a critical task for anyone maintaining an older home, yet one ignored by every other comparable book on the market. This book fills a needed gap between beginner do-it-yourself volumes and advanced instruction for the professional tradesperson.