Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
 Excellent Thermo Text December 11, 2008
W. Hartl (Lambertville, NJ USA)
I have changed title from best to excellent because I have looked at Cengel Boles 3rd ed in the mean time which in some explanations I found a little better, and it answered some questions that arose in my mind, like max work between equilibrium states.
There seems to be a lot of parallelism between the two books which seems more than coincidental. Interesting.
Padding seems to be an inevitable consequence of marketing. For self-study older, cheaper versions of both texts are readily available ($5). Unfortunateley, the poor students don't have that option.
This text presents the principles of Thermodynamics clearly with no missing steps in the derivations and explanations, actually pretty unique for a text book. There are no maddening gaps in the development. Examples are clear and illustrative. I didn't try many problems. My objective was to create a concise, recallable structure of Thermodynamics in my mind.
I personally don't like the term "Exergy." I find "Availability" a lot easier to think about and recall. Also, all those e's for energy, exergy, and environment are a nuisance to write clearly. The chapter on Exergy (Availability) is excellent but left one gap in my mind as to the meaning of exergy change. Is it the max attainable work between two states? If yes, why?
I wish the authors would write a textbook on E&M. Talk about finding a clear, understandable, explanation for a subject, whew!
 Fair/Poor November 21, 2008
Tom (Virginia)
As many other reviewers have noted, this book often trouble for the ME undergrad. Unfortunately, myself and my classmates are trying to teach ourselves the material due to the lack of a decent professor. This book alone will probably be more of a frustration than a source of understanding. With over 800 pages, its way too much to cover in one semester of an undergrad thermo course. Our entire class is floundering, and our professor has had to curve grades heavily to keep the majority of us from failing. So, this might not be the best book for undergraduate students who are trying to actually learn the material. You will spend most of your time guessing what to do, unless you have a good professor.
Solid foundation in thermodynamics March 8, 2008
Elizabeth Stroisch (spfld, il)
A good text for undergrad study of thermodynamics. Alot of tables for common binary fluids. Clear and easy to understand. Emphasizes cycle analysis.
 Thoughts from an ME Undergraduate April 3, 2007
B. Rodriguez (Indiana, USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm currently using this book for my undergraduate thermo course and this is my first class (and first book) on thermodynamics. That said, I must I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I'll agree that there's plenty of examples which are helpful and there's plenty of rigor in explaining many concepts.
On the other hand, I will also say that I was completely lost several times when reading the book. I definitely agree with the other review that complained about this book's wordiness. In an introductory text such as this, I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't string together long, run-on sentences with nothing but definition terms (where you have to lookup virtually each word in the sentence from other chapters). I've also noticed that many intro texts *fail to succinctly and clearly explain completely new terms and concepts in easy-to-understand words and real-world examples*, and this is no exception!
Central summary pages including main formulas (and page numbers for alternative forms of the main formulas) would be helpful for students instead of constantly flipping through the chapters looking for something specific formula.
Also, the back of the book solutions severely lack any sort of real form (most books give either all odd or even solutions) and the problems themselves often require complex assumptions that first-year thermo students such as myself aren't going to think of right off-the-bat. Starting point hints would be a BIG help.
All that said, I'd say that while this is a pretty good, detailed book, good luck if you're an engineering undergrad taking a thermo class for the first time with this book. You'll probably benefit from lectures more than from this book.
 I had to teach myself from this... March 18, 2007
Patricia A. Heneka (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great book, my professor for this class lacked a Ph.D and the ability to teach, so I was on my own for the most part. I nearly pulled an A in the course. On a technical note, they aren't so clear on/or make a few minor errors, be careful with the P-h diagrams.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
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