Customer Reviews

The Electric Car: Development and Future of Battery, Hybrid and Fuel-Cell Cars (IEE Power & Energy Series, 38)

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The Electric Car gives an excellent overview of electric cars. And as promised by the subtitle, Westbrook discusses the development and future of battery, hybrid and fuel-cell cars. All in all, this book is the best I have found on this important subject. I recommend it highly.

As interest increases in electric cars, particularly hybrids, books on the subject increase as well. Some are interesting and helpful. A surprisingly large amount are not. Few, if any, match the depth and breadth of the information and opinion in The Electric Car.

Westbrook spent his career working with electric cars. That shows in the book's detailed information and patient discussion. This is a book by an industry insider, who knows what he is talking about. What he does not know, he finds out, through contacts in the industry that he keeps active.

Westbrook does tend a little toward the pedantic. And he loves a long and complex sentence. No fluffy reading here. In fact, the book can be hard to get through if you are tired and not at the best of your game.

Nonetheless, if you have strong interest in electric cars, in my opinion you need this book.

This book provides an accurate history of electric and hybrid cars, however it may be a bit lacking in terms of charting the future of electric cars and their power sources. All in all a solid buy for a intoduction to electric car technology.

Well written. Slightly outdated for 2011, but a good introduction for me. Not for people without electronics or mechanical knowledge. I don't work in electronics, but I completed a two year electronics tech program. This book speaks to me, but my non-electronics friends wouldn't have a clue what to make of it. The IEE Power & Energy Series is pretty cool in general!

If you are looking to get your feet wet in the electric transportation field, this is a good start. It provides the fundamentals and concepts for a novice user to start to understand what is needed, and how parts work together. If you want to build an electric car, this is not the book for you.