The Best Engineering Books

[W00DY]

I shall be of,f back to University in September to study Mechanical Engineering and as someone who loves reading and is fascinated by engineering, I thought I would try to combine the two. So, anything goes really, from textbooks which helped you out to brilliant engineering tales. What inflamed your imagination/helped your understanding?

[hyperblue]

Wheni did my degree, these were the main books (though I was using older editions):

First year will be crap loads of maths:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Mathematics-K-...

With a lot of mechanics and probably some fluid dynamics. Both books below are quite readable and easy to digest, I recall doing almost all of the questions in them to improve my understanding.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mechanics-Materials-Editio...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fluid-Mechanics-Dr-J-Dougl...

[Hilts]

hyperblue said:

Wheni did my degree, these were the main books (though I was using older editions):

First year will be crap loads of maths:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Mathematics-K-...

Stroud FTW!

[Frik]

Stoud for sure. Plus Rogers and Mayhew, the thermodynamics bible:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Thermodynamics...

[Olf]

Stroud - yes, yes and yes again. If your lecturer is a duffer Stroud and a lot of effort can get you through Maths.

Also Moran and Shapiro - Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics.

[MartG]

Make sure you have a copy of Gieck's Technical Formulae

[W00DY]

Thanks guys. All the suggestions seem decent, looks like I need to find a chunk of cash now.

I already have Stroud and a very good idea of the amount of maths involved as I previously started and will be going straight into second year.

[cymtriks]

Machinery Handbook
Roark
Kemps

You don't need anything else in the real world!

[bucksmanuk]

Vibration
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Vibration-Applicati...

Maths - Stroud
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Mathematics-K-...

Further Engineering Mathematics – Stroud again
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Further-Engineering-Mathem...

Engineering Thermodynamics: Work and Heat Transfer- Rogers and Mayhew
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Thermodynamics...

Mechanics of Fluids -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mechanics-Fluids-B-S-Masse...

Bolted Joints
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Design-Behavi...

Stress and strain – COMPULSORY – if you don’t have a copy of this, then other engineers won’t take you seriously!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roarks-Formulas-McGraw-Hil...

Materials
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Properties-Engineering-Mat...

Mechanics
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Mechanics-J-Hannah...

Your Bible - Machinery's Handbook
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machinerys-Handbook-Toolbo...

This should keep you going - oh and penniless!

[Olf]

Don't forget that your lecturer will also have a very strong preference about the book you use - I.e. HIS ONE!

[Zad]

Before you jump in feet first and spend a load of cash on books that you may never read...

Ask the people who are actually running the course what the required and suggested books are. It may be the case that several of the books will be available from the Uni bookshop, or an associated one near by, at a considerably discounted rate. Then give the bookshop a ring. There is no point buying books similar to those specified.

If you are looking for another maths book, then I might suggest Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Erwin Kreyszig http://www.amazon.co.uk/Advanced-Engineering-Mathe...

I didn't see Dexter & Booth until a few years ago, and wish I had owned a copy when I was a student. That would normally not be a point worth commenting about, except I was an undergrad at Huddersfield Uni, where Booth was/is a lecturer.


ETA: Congratulations! I'm seriously envious of anyone starting uni. Great times, great people.

Edited by Zad on Wednesday 4th July 20:07

[Ultuous]

Zad said:

Ask the people who are actually running the course what the required and suggested books are. It may be the case that several of the books will be available from the Uni bookshop, or an associated one near by, at a considerably discounted rate. Then give the bookshop a ring. There is no point buying books similar to those specified.

Solid advice that I really can't argue with - the recommended texts really are the ones that need to be read to get the grades (often written by the lecturer himself IME) and you'll get sick enough of all your money going on these within a couple of terms!

That said, The Jet Engine by Rolls-Royce has always inspired me - and in true PH style: Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals by John B. Heywood!

[W00DY]

Thanks again, will definitely pick a few of those up.


I will probably in most cases get used copies which will be older versions and see how I get on with them, then think about upgrading.

I know there will be recommended texts, but those will have the most copies in the library and if written by lecturers etc, may not help with the understanding.

Mostly I am looking to get solid fundamental understanding and then read around what is necessary for the course. This time I will be going for the pursuit of learning rather than just trying to do the minimum required for good grades.

I am also very interested in the inspiring stuff as well as straight text books, it doesn't have to be hugely technical.

Have cracked open Stroud for some light reading .

[Ultuous]

W00DY said:

I know there will be recommended texts, but those will have the most copies in the library and if written by lecturers etc, may not help with the understanding.

Whilst I totally understand and admire your sentiment, just make sure you're aware how intensive a Mech Eng degree really is - I'm not a fan of 'cramming' at all, as it basically means you haven't got a handle on a subject (that's coming from someone who's been there)..

But... the sheer volume and breadth of work can mean that you don't have time to 'read around' a subject (unless you're doing a Final Year project/ PhD etc.) or want to arse about trying to track down some essential text in a different edition of a book referenced in the lecture notes - IF you're lucky enough to find a copy in the library, as they don't tend to keep enough stocks to satisfy demand in 3 popular weeks given the 49 others when they just gather dust IME!..

I also had several tutors who were useless at giving lectures but wrote decent books that covered all the content well - much as it pissed me off, I had to get them, as you never know if other texts on the same subject are going to cover their techniques, which ultimately you're going to get examined on!

W00DY said:

I am also very interested in the inspiring stuff as well as straight text books, it doesn't have to be hugely technical.

That's where the RR book is utterly wonderful - for the pretty pictures alone!

[Zad]

Uni is definitely not the right place to go to be inspired

Try James Burke's series "Connections"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgOp-nz3lHg

Don't rely on the library having enough copies of the course texts. Second hand books are definitely a good idea, the uni bookshop or union may even trade in them.

[Otispunkmeyer]

If you are going to do engines then look up Heywood and his book called internal combustion engine fundamentals. Very good book. Not sure if it's been updated since it was originally released so it maybe a little out of date re modern engine tech. But the core stuff is all gold and underpins everything we have today.

E. Hecht for optics

H K Versteeg and W Malalasekera : an introduction to computational fluid dynamics: the finite volume method. - great book written specifically for undergrads by people who teach this subject at undergrad. They were one of the first people to do it after having been told cfd was too hard for undergrads.

William T Thomson - theory of vibration with applications. Excellent book on vibrational mechanics.

[Ultuous]

Otispunkmeyer said:

H K Versteeg and W Malalasekera : an introduction to computational fluid dynamics: the finite volume method. - great book written specifically for undergrads by people who teach this subject at undergrad. They were one of the first people to do it after having been told cfd was too hard for undergrads.

Small world eh? I did my final year project for one of these two and he was a fantastic tutor - the other /may/ have been one of the tutors I was thinking of when I said some of my above post - both extremely clever men though!

[hairykrishna]

I wonder what percentage of the worlds engineers and physicists taught themselves maths from Stroud?

[cymtriks]

If you are after texts for university course work then get the tutor's recommended texts second hand from older students.

If you are after texts that engineers actually use in the real world then:

• Essential books

Roark
Machinery's handbook

• Maths

Stroud

• for everything else

Wait and see where you end up, there is no point in buying a text on gears if you end up working on castings for example. Most engineering employers will have their own texts on a bookshelf plus lots of their own reports on how their stuff, and often their competitors stuff, works. A large company will have teams specialising in lots of different areas, for example dynamics, static stress, aerodynamics, test rigs, bearings, gears, etc.

It certainly isn't the case that you need to know everything, engineering is simply too big a subject. I've worked in aerospace for twenty years but have never got involved in aerodynamics, I do complicated analysis of shafts, nut and bolts (yes they can get very complex when they cost a lot each, require a spanner set that costs more than a car and comes with its own computerised control box and hold this together) and structures using a lot of FEA though.

Edited by cymtriks on Thursday 5th July 19:58

[bucksmanuk]

hairykrishna said:

I wonder what percentage of the worlds engineers and physicists taught themselves maths from Stroud?

A fairly high percentage, I would have thought! - I have to put myself into this category as well...