Customer Reviews

Geotechnical Engineering: Principles and Practices

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This excellent text eased my transition from analytical chemistry work and toxicology into the fascinating field of geotechnical engineering, helping me grasp both the methodology and the reasoning behind numerous geotechnical analyses -- from the most fundamental basics of soil classification to the empirical, working, and theoretical underpinnings of rising head/falling tail flexible membrane permeametry. Coduto's book also sheds rays of light upon the ephemeral calculations beloved by the writers of ASTM methodology: Get this book, you will not be disappointed!

I was one of the students in Don Coduto's graduate level class that helped him "use" this book when it was in the final review stages. We helped him find all the little mistakes before final publishing. I still carry around that old 700+ page volume of a notebook we had for that class. It's nice to see it finally published. It is an OUTSTANDING book making geotechincal work more readily accessible to the average engineer. The example problems will help one grasp the concepts faster. Don can always be contacted with questions as well. ENJOY.

This book is very easy to follow. It shows explainations, concepts, theories, and provides beautiful examples. Excellent book for undergraduate studies.

Coduto has done a great job in producing an entry level geotechnical engineering book. It does not go into thhe level of detail needed at times, but serves as a good resource for students learning about soils and geotechnical engineering. Very easy to understand and follow, and provides many diagrams and photos for better understanding.

"Geotechnical Engineering" is a good read but I have yet to come across any useful example problems. This book is either for a novice/ enthusiast or expert who already knows how to perform all applicable calculations. For the student engineer who is learning the subject for the first time I would recommend something else.

Summary:
Pros: Interesting casual read
Cons: Grotesquely overpriced (this is a $60 book masquerading as a $180 book); concerning lack of sample calculations

Reviewer:
4th year CE student at UF

If you're looking for a Soil Mechanics text with clear-cut explanations, current design perspectives, and newcomer-friendliness: look no further. Coduto's done a great job with this text, and for undergraduate instruction in soil mechanics, or for the beginner in the field, this is the most easy-to-understand text around.

This is not, however, a book that will continue to be used regularly by a geotechnical practitioner. The entry-level nature of the text means (almost by definition) that it is not dense enough to maintain its usefulness once the user has mastered the basics. It may serve as a nice reference for the practing civil engineer who is not involved in geotechnical engineering, as it covers the basics nicely (e.g., so what does my geotech consultant mean by "equivalent unit weight"?)

This was a really great book that explains the basics of geotech very well. I really enjoyed this book a lot, which made the class infinitely easier. For real world application, I'm not sure this is extremely useful, but in the classroom setting, I can almost guarantee this book will make your life easier.

This text book is a good read, it explains it's figures and has much better descriptions for the examples to follow. I wish i had this Book last year.

The book came in very fast, but the front cover was pretty damaged during shipping.