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This is a handbook that can also be used as a textbook. In textbook fashion each chapter has a Q&A section at the end. Subjects covered are quite comprehensive and that means that few if any persons are likely to use all of this information. This book remains true to its name by doing a thorough job on the fundamental concepts. That is not to say there is no meat in the book. Chapter 4 covers Workholding Principles in about 100 pages and is well worth reviewing even by experienced persons. There are very useful tables throughout the book that can be used to do the problems at the end of chapter. Any serious tool designer will want to get a "Machinery's Handbook" or other comprehensive and up-to-date reference for feeds, speeds, and material properties. There has to be a drawing, photo, or illustration for every one of it's 750+ pages, maybe more than one per page.
Some of the main chapters include: Workholding Principles, Jig Design, Fixture Design, Design of Pressworking Tools, and Bending, Forming, Drawing, and Forging Dies. To round out this wide variety of topics there are chapters covering machining fundamentals, inspection and welding fixtures, and considerations for new CNC techniques.
It is reasonable to expect that a person with some shop skills could read this book and design simple jigs and fixtures. It is probably not reasonable to expect a person to design a sheet metal stamping die or forging die after studying this book.You would be able to understand all the major parts of a sheet metal die and be able to buy a die more intelligently. There is also a good deal of information useful to the product designer who needs to know what the limits of the manufacturing processes are (e.g. minimum radiuses, tolerance budgeting between parts and process, and some quick cost estimating formulas for tooling and manufacturing.
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Now all this time'early 40's'the Brits had been warning KING about the present position and anticipated arrival of every German submarine sent across the Atlantic to attack our Eastern ports, but the number one SOB on our side (and an American) refused to ever listen to the Brits due to a pathological craziness that negatively focused on the Brits. Instead he did the opposite. The ports were left unguarded. The German wolf packs roamed just a few miles off our Eastern seashore at will and thousands of men died needlessly! Why this one salient point wasn't a large focal point of this book is beyond me.
As bald as King's purposeful negligence seems today I must admit that everyone wants to read about a leader who is also a buffoon. Madness and stupidity offer great areas of comedic relief even in pointless deadly battles. A glimpse at some of the most fatal but stupid and uninspired Anglo-Saxon battle plans'"over the top boys!"'of the 2nd World War will convence anyone of this! That's why this book isn't selling but would be selling 2000 copies a month right now had the authors and the U.S. Navy relentlessly searched for the truth and then after finding it wrote is all down exactly as it happened. But the U.S. Navy was then a boatload of WASPS in search of a great U.S. Naval leader and Mad Admiral King looked just like a leader with his clean face and pretty white hair. In their egoistic ways and means, the writers tried to place King anywhere but where he belongs: in a yellow submarine. Instead, King's long and costly road to victory was too grevious for everyone in the end and so no foolish writer wanted to spend time researching him when his record spoke for itself.
Mad Admiral King's true plan for the Pacific war was to island-hop for another three years, to have the war end in 1948. His dwarf like mind conceived the worst and possibly malignant war plans when he purposefully ordered Iwo Jima to be invaded. This latter plan of death and dying caused even the most cynical American Admiral-to-be to suggest that island hoping was a bad idea. Bypass the remaining islands and bomb Japan back into the stone age with incendiaries. The deaths of the truly great fighting men at Iwo Jima were placed there by King and ordered to take the island at allcosts. This is not insightfully addressed in the book on King because it's just more proof of King's pathological arrogance and conceit.
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I think that when the author corrects these errors, and rewrites uncomprenhensible parts, this could be a good text. For now it is average at best, and I do not think it is ready to be used for classes, at least not at an undergraduate level.
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As a weightlifter, I have read in many books, such as "Beef It" by Robert Kennedy and "Basic Weight Training" by Thomas D. Fahey, that one should not overtrain. What is the definition of overtraining? Well, these two authors have given us a mathematical (yes, mathematical!) formula that can help us measure how much our strength has grown and whether or not we have overtrained our muscles. How many other weight training books have been able to encapsulate our amount of muscular output into a mathematical formula?
These two authors took the time to analyze the most popular arm and chest exercises in existence and rated them according to their overall effectiveness. Do you think dumbell butterfly is a good exercise for you chest? If you do, then you really need to buy this book. It's no wonder why Harvard University's Physiological Department utilizes this book as the basis for their research.
Rugby was brought to South Africa by the British in the early 1800s. Rugby, among other sports, has since been a dominating force in South African international politics. A strong sense of white superiority was brought with the game of rugby, and the nation has been fighting the effects of the apartheid years through sports as well as other avenues ever since. Black and Nauright also address the chain of events surrounding the international boycott of South African sporting participation and how the nation has since reentered the sporting arena, this positive change beginning with the 1995 Rugby World Cup (RWC).
After the 1995 RWC, South African rugby began to fall apart, and rugby slowly lost some of its power over government policies. Black and Nauright conclude the book with the notion that rugby's role in nation building in South Africa is going to shift and change, but continue to remain an important influence. The authors leave you with somewhat of a sense of finality, tying up much of the confusion from previous chapters.
Black and Nauright start with the history behind white and black rugby in South Africa and how it has helped form the nation. They write in depth on the secret society of the Broederbond as well as the sporting relationship with New Zealand and the Rugby World Cup of 1995. Each of these chapters are well organized individually, however, seem to be awkwardly organized in the overall structure of the book.
This book should not be read for pleasure purposes. It has a depth of information regarding the effects of rugby on the South African Nation that will inform anyone who reads the book. Black and Nauright are sometimes hard to follow, however, seem to know the material and write like their readers have at least a limited knowledge of rugby and the South African Nation. You may spend considerable time re-reading sentences in order to decipher the authors' thoughts.
The first few chapters of the book provide a general history of sports in South Africa and follow the development of rugby. The middle chapters present the meat of apartheid and sport in South Africa, with stories of international sanctions and particular focus on South Africa's relationship with New Zealand and Australia. Writing about the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa, Black and Nauright make a clear statement that many government efforts at presenting a reformed face to the sporting world were superficial and short lived.
Overall I found the information in the book to be helpful, but hard to swallow at times. The highly academic language was a factor, as well as the sheer volume of information crammed into such a small space. Both factors served to dull an otherwise fascinating topic. The notes at the end of chapters however, were useful, and there is no doubt that the authors presented a well-researched project in their book.
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This book keeps the usual high standard for O'Reilly nutshell books. Yes, this should be seen more as a reference than as an introduction or beginners book, though it covers all important topics and pitfalls to avoid.
If you want the best reference and most comprehensive explanation on RPC and how to use it, this is the book to get.
Danger: As with all of the better O'Reilly "reference/nutshell" books: it may not be very easy to read. The book assumes a fair good understanding of networking and protocol issues. I think someone looking for a introduction or beginners guide will be very dissapointed. This is what makes O'Reilly nutshell books good, they fill the sorely lacking area of deep and detailed books covering all gory detail but does not spend a lot(read: anything at all) of space for the beginner. You will have to think quite a lot to understand it and reading it from cover to cover WILL take a lot of time. If you are aware of this and wants a comprehensive book which goes through everything, this is the one to get.
It is easier to read than RFC1050 and does explain some very very tricky concepts/areas which the RFC just assumes are obvious or assumes you should figure out yourself.
I recommend this book.
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