Customer Reviews

Introduction to the Technology of Explosives

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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There are two negative things to be said of this textbook: I had trouble putting it down, reading well into the night; and, I wanted more.

For those entering the field of explosive engineering, this is an excellant first text. Having learned about shock waves from texts and reports written by those who created the field of explosive engineering, it was a task to learn on my own. Paul Cooper has written a book that makes the subject seem so simple and understandable I wonder why I had so much difficulty understanding these basics. This can only be explained by this text having been written by someone who knows the subject intimately, and has tremendous skills as a wordsmith. It is also obvious that Paul Cooper has put considerable of effort into this work, not letting it be published until it was truely ready.

It is well worth the price, and will be as great a value to the savant as to the neophyte in this field. An excellant predecessor to Paul Cooper's "Explosives Engineering."

Excellent starter which covers the chemistry, burning mechanics, shock mechanics and scaling laws. The book does contain quite a bit of material on practical concerns such as example devices, storage, facilities and operations.
Unfortunately, this results in a limited coverage of more advanced concepts, but this is what is to be expected in an introductory book. It is not a textbook, so it is very uesful and does not leave the reader hanging on any subject. Paul Cooper's writing style is conversational and clear. The material on propellant burning in this book does not appear in his more advanced book "Explosives Engineering". For the reader new to the field, this book will probably be the best choice.