Reviews (2)

Great for Reference
This book starts with a great review of the basics of soil mechanics, and then discusses a wide range of topics such as foundations, bearing walls, footings, deep footings, and many more.Unlike other books, this book is not strictly theory; you can easily apply and understand what this book teaches. It also provides good examples.

Thumbs Up!
This is the most practical and comprehensive source for understanding foundations and their design... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Foundation Engineering    3. Foundations    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Technology    6. Technology & Industrial Arts    7. Soil & rock mechanics    8. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (7)

Essential Concepts for Geotechs
I hope the reviewer who rated the book one star doesn't consider himself a geotechnical engineer.To state that book is not good because it was not useful on the PE exam is laughable.This text presents essential concepts and methodolgies that are needed in the field of geotechnical engineering.The chapters on the shear strength of cohesionless and cohesive soils as well as stress paths is worth the money alone.The three most important things in geotechnical engineering are shear strength, shear strength, shear strength.A geotechnical engineer needs to have complete understanding of the shear strength soils.If all you want to accomplish is to pass the PE exam, then like the reviewer said, look elsewhere.If you to be a competent geotechnical engineer, purchase this classic text.

Good Reference
It is a good book, used as the requred text for the graduate soil mechanics class at UC Berkeley. I learned a lot from it. There are also other good references there, e.g. Soil Mechanics and Foundations by Muni Budhu.

If there were 6 stars to give...I would
As a Geotechnical engineer in a graduate program I can honestly say that this is my most frequently consulted reference.Read more

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. General    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Soil & rock mechanics    6. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (4)

Excellent introduction to the structural dynamics.
I've been a seismic engineer for 9 years now. I started my master'sdegree in Earthquake Engineering back in 1993, in Okayama, Japan.
Good Start for understanding Subject
Book is well suited for individuals who want to gain some understanding of dynamics as applied to structural systems. However, needs more material on how structural dynamics can be applied to computer applications. Still oneof the better books you can buy on this subject.

Excellent book
This book comprehensively covers structural dynamics and extends it to earthquake engineering applications (as claimed by the title).Veryreadable,easy to follow and has good example problems. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Earthquake Engineering    2. Engineering - Civil    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Structural Dynamics (Engineering)    5. Structural dynamics    6. Technology    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. Soil & rock mechanics    9. Technology / Engineering / Civil    10. Vulcanology & seismology   

Subjects:  1. Applied    2. Earth Sciences - Geology    3. Engineering - Civil    4. Engineering Geology    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Soil Mechanics    7. Statistical methods    8. Technology & Industrial Arts    9. Mathematics-Applied    10. Risk assessment    11. Science-Earth Sciences - Geology    12. Structural engineering    13. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (6)

The best introduction to geotechnical earthquake engineering
Yes, this is an excellent overall introduction to the geotechnical aspects of earthquake engineering.We use it regularly in practice.The sections on seismic hazard analysis and seismic slope stability are particularly strong.

the best available
Topics in geotechnical earthquake engineering is one of the good references
This book is good for graduate level.It contains lots of principles and applications in this field.References listed in the book are very useful as a starting point in geotech research. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Earthquake Engineering    2. Engineering - Civil    3. Engineering Geology    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Technology    6. Technology & Industrial Arts    7. Soil & rock mechanics    8. Technology / Engineering / Civil    9. Vulcanology & seismology   

Reviews (1)

Hang on it!
Ihave been using this book for about five years without a single complain. The book has not only enough theory to deal with probably the 80 or perhaps 90 percent of the typical day-to-day dewaterning problems that we found in our industry, but it also teach you the ways to cope them. Read more

Subjects:  1. Building sites    2. Construction - General    3. Drainage    4. Drainage (Hydraulic Engineering)    5. Engineering - Civil    6. Engineering Geology    7. Groundwater flow    8. Soil mechanics    9. Technology    10. Technology & Industrial Arts    11. Sanitary & municipal engineering    12. Soil & rock mechanics    13. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (1)

Good update of a classical book
I'm an engineer working in the field of dams and hydropower.
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Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Rock slopes    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Technology    5. Technology & Industrial Arts    6. Soil & rock mechanics    7. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Science/Mathematics    3. Slopes (Soil mechanics)    4. Technology    5. Technology & Industrial Arts    6. Soil & rock mechanics    7. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Science/Mathematics    3. Soil Mechanics    4. Technology    5. Technology & Industrial Arts    6. Civil Engineering, Surveying & Building    7. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (6)

Lacks explanation
This book appears to be useful, but in reality, it isn't. The formulas are given without stating their inherent assumptions and limitations. Somewhere in the book the author states: "for an overconsolidated clay, cohesion is greater than zero; for a normally consolidated clay, it is zero." No further explanation.
Principles of Foundation Engineering
Exelent textbook that helped me in numerous project assignments over the last 7 years. I'd highly recommend it to practicing geotechnical/structural engineers.

Resourceful and Relevant for professional practice
The content of the book is extremely useful for civil and foundation engineers involved in the design and construction of foundation structures. The construction problems discussed in the examples are very relevant andhelpful to the design engineers. The illustrations given in this book arefairly easy to understand which enable me to relate them to the similargeotechnical problems faced in the construction industry in my country.Imay recommend the book to be one of the referenced text book for my mastersdegree student.Read more

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Foundation Engineering    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Technology    5. Technology & Industrial Arts    6. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (4)

Boom!Shocking!
Trained as a physicist (with some background in organic chemistry) I found Cooper's book very useful, but not necessarily easiy to read.The material on the chemistry of exlposives is straightforward enough, but the material on shock waves I found nearly impenetrable the first time around.It starts off too wordy: the back end of the shock catches up to the front end and this causes attenuation...But after a few readings, and making sense of his diagrams, it began to make sense.Reading "Explosive Effects and Applications" by Zukas and Walters, helped.Much the same material is covered in this other book, and much more in the style that physicists are trained in.This other book, however, doesn't really treat shock physics.If one is interested in spall fracture, get "Spall Fracture" by Antoun, Seaman, Curran, Kanel, Razorenov and Utkin.
Not the best, but certainly not poorly written
Cooper moves from one subject to another in a manner that may annoy some. However, this is NOT a "teeny-bomber" book. If you have an interest in Thermochemistry and are familiar with some of the European methods of modeling, you may enjoy some of the more unique areas Cooper explores. The author leads you to this point by utilizing basic Thermodynamic concepts and this is why some readers may get bored. Although he does provide background if you actually read the text and don't skip about. A badly written book
This book is about 460 pages and contains fives sections. He starts with the chemistry of explosives. The next section is on thermodynamics properties followed by a section on shock waves. The last two sections are on detonation and initiation. I was particularly interested in shock waves. I found the book inadequate in every possible sense. The notation is an absolute disaster. There is no saying what represents what and sometimes the same symbol has been used to represent several different quantities in the same place. One must try very hard to figure out what is actually meant. The mathematical treatment of shock waves is primitive and almost non-existent. I got the impression that the author does not have a good grasp of the subject. The book resembles an internal report or a collection of white papers as it is customary in some companies nowadays. The book needs a lot of editing, as some sentences are incomprehensible. Here is an example sentense form page 208 : "First we will look at the P-x diagram, a few diagrams in time of the shock presure and the interface, Figure 18.5. "If you know nothing about the subject, then this maybe a place to start because the book is very basic. Just be sure you are not confused by the inconsistent notation. If you are interested to learn about the shock waves and their interaction, I recommend "Physics of Shock Waves and High Temperature Hydrodynamic Phenomena" by Zel'dovich and Raizer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Chemical & Biochemical    2. Engineering - Mechanical    3. Explosives    4. Sociology    5. Technology    6. Technology & Industrial Arts    7. Mining technology & engineering    8. Soil & rock mechanics    9. Technology / General   

Subjects:  1. Building    2. Engineering - Civil    3. Engineering Construction Management    4. Foundations    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Soil Mechanics    7. Technology    8. Technology & Industrial Arts    9. Soil & rock mechanics    10. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (4)

Excellent - There are ERRORS though
Since Wiley does not (apparently) publish errata for this book, I figured I'd post this here; it may be some help to some frustrated grad student (like me).
Terzaghi says it all...
you've got to have this book if you are a geotechnical engineer.terzaghi gives examples from actual projects and presents them clearly.there are solutions to geotechnical problems encountered in the field.

Karl Terzaghi is loved
Many have commented on my review below -- most favorably. A few said, it was the second edition of the book they had admired most. Well! that was in 1967. Geotechnical engineering has exploded since then. Today it would bealmost impossible for anyone to write a 5-star general purpose bookon thesubject.Read more

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Environmental Engineering & Technology    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Soil Mechanics    5. Technology    6. Technology & Industrial Arts    7. Soil & rock mechanics    8. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (3)

Excellent Resource
I found Mr. McCarthy's book to be a valuable resource.From a geologist's perspective, it was of great help in bridging the gap between engineering geology and geotechnical engineering.It gave me greater insight into not only field technique, but also into geologic considerations that are of importance in foundation design.The text was both concise and clearly written.

From a Civil/Geological Engineering student's view...
* Poor index - no detail * Good detail in text on subjects covered * Has some errors in the chapter on flownets * Disjointed in discussion of compaction * Good for students with little to no soil mechanics background

An excellent engineering tool!
Civil engineers throughout the world can use this book as either a classroom text or reference handbook. It covers a variety of soil conditions including expansive soils and provides examples of bothfoundation designs,and retaining earth structures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geology    2. Engineering - Civil    3. Foundations    4. Mechanics - General    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Soil Mechanics    7. Technology    8. Technology & Industrial Arts    9. Soil & rock mechanics    10. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Science/Mathematics    3. Technology    4. Technology & Industrial Arts    5. Pavements    6. Soil & rock mechanics    7. Soil science, sedimentology    8. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Engineering - Industrial    3. Engineering - Mechanical    4. Engineering Geology    5. Foundations    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Soil Stabilization    8. Soil mechanics    9. Technology    10. Technology & Industrial Arts    11. Soil science, sedimentology    12. Structural engineering    13. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Foundation Engineering    3. Foundations    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Soil Mechanics    6. Technology    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. Soil & rock mechanics    9. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (3)

Valuable Reference
This book is a valuable reference for slope stability.The second edition is an improvement from the first edition, but dosen't make the first obsolete.Some great information, including example problems, on probabilistic analysis has been added and there is a little more on 3D and finite element analysis.Probably not enough changes from the first edition to make you need this one, unless you have some specific questions about one of the new chapters (see the table of contents).Numerous references are provided to allow further research of a particular topic. Decent Introductory Text .
An good overview of basic soil mechanics and slope stability methods/concepts... a good introductory book. A large majority of chapters deal with more traditional geology and soil mechanics knowledge (ie. groundwater conditions, geologic site exploration and lab testing) and really only two good chapters on stability methods (6&7)... it would have been nicer to have more discussion of the chart solutions and more detailed case studies as examples for each method(the examples are generally simple and kept short)... it should be mentioned that the two chapters do include a fair amount of material ...but i found myself going to some of the references listed in the back of each chapther for more information...

A Great Into into Slope Stability
This book is great for engineers trying to learn Slope Stability Analysis on their own, or for instruction in the classroom.The book talks about field invesigation techniques, anylitical analysis, and new computermethods including X-Stable.This book is a must for any GeotechnicalEngineer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Embankments    2. Engineering - Civil    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Slopes (Soil mechanics)    5. Soil stabilization    6. Technology    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. Soil & rock mechanics    9. Technology / Engineering / Civil   

Reviews (10)

CLASSICAL TEXTBOOK for GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERS
I'm a civil engineer involved in the design of large hydraulic structures.
A fundamental reference
If you have only a few geotechnical engineering books, this should be one of them. As a practicing geotechnical engineer I use this book 2 to 3 times per week.It includes the theory and essential reference material.

Too Focused on the Analysis Software
I was very impressed with an earlier edition of Bowles' book as he had some very well-explained design examples (the best I had seen on design of sheet-pile walls).When I purchased this edition, I was dismayed to find that the text is very much centered around the software included with the book.In some cases the author provides sample computer output rather than illustrative design examples.This text left me regretting making the purchase, and hoping to find a used copy of one of the earlier editions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geology    2. Engineering - Civil    3. Foundations    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Soil mechanics    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. Applications of Computing    9. Science / Geology    10. Soil & rock mechanics   

Reviews (1)

a excellent book for civil engineers
This is one of the best books for civil engineers who want to know and study about geology and engineering geology. From the simple geological concept to the groundwater geology, this book covers a wide range ofsubjects in geology. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geology    2. Engineering Geology    3. Environmental Science    4. Environmental Studies    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Geology & the lithosphere    8. Science / Geology    9. Soil & rock mechanics