Customer Reviews

Biotechnical and Soil Bioengineering Slope Stabilization: A Practical Guide for Erosion Control

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Appears to cover the subject in detail, and was an excellent introduction to a neophyte such as myself. Good, clear and concise explanations and definitions that gave me complete access to the subject matter.
Some gripes, though:
My organization's library bought it for around $50, perhaps a couple of years ago, I believe. When I went to order my own copy (how's that for an endorsement!) I found it was now $140. For $140 I expect a superior book, and this is very good, but not superior - though no poor reflection on the authors.
The printing is extremely poor (is this from the budget department of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Wiley-Interscience)? I think not - from the price. Yet the fonts, the layout, and even the antique cover design reminds one of something typeset and printed in the early 1950s, and the monochrome photographs are reproduced with atrocious quality--some are useless because they are so poor.
The text has many careless mistakes, mainly spelling mistakes, which really bug a detail-oriented person like myself. Did Wiley & Sons not appoint an editor for the book?
Finally, it deals mainly with temperate zones and I would have liked to have seen at least some information on tropical land stabilization, since my work is tropical and the needs here are extreme. Perhaps the principles are the same, and the temperate bias just represents the authors' experience.
In summary, Drs. Gray and Solir have produced a text to be proud of, but Wiley-Interscience have made a vastly inferior product out of it. That must be rather bitter-sweet for the authors.
PS: Does anyone know where I can get a copy for a reasonable price (under $50)?