Landscape Surveying [Paperback]

Harry L. Field (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1401809618 | ISBN-13: 978-1401809614 | Publication Date: July 14, 2003 | Edition: 1

The principles and methods of surveying are used by many occupations ranging from simple, visual determination of a difference in elevation to more complex use of topographic maps, property boundaries, and the more precise measuring of distances and angles. This text helps students determine which method is most suitable to a variety of projects. It does not assume advanced math or engineering skills, and is more easily accessible to students who need to practice surveying as part of their responsibilities rather than their entire role.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author does a great job of making this easy and enjoyable to read. This can be a very dry subject and one that I find difficult at some points, as the students tend to get bogged down in all the terminology, math and potential depth of the subject. The author makes it more interesting while sprinkling in some of the history, and explaining it so that anyone can understand." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Delmar Cengage Learning; 1 edition (July 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401809618
• ISBN-13: 978-1401809614
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,397,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Landscape Surveying" by Harry L. Field and "Elementary Surveying" by Breed and Hosmer, October 27, 2009

By 

Philip Howe - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Landscape Surveying (Paperback)

I am not a surveyor, but am a physicist who needed to do some surveying. I purchased two books: "Landscape Surveying" by Harry L. Field and "Elementary Surveying" by Breed and Hosmer (B&F). Field's book was written in 2004, Breed and Hosmer's in 1938.

I found the text by Breed and Hosmer to be far more complete and useful than the book by Field. Although Field's book treats the same range of subjects as does Breed and Hosmer's, the subjects are not treated in as great a depth, nor as rigorously, nor is the exposition typically as clearly written. Field's book does have the advantage that it includes a discussion of technologies not available in 1938, such as laser range finders and laser levels, and electronic transits. Field's chapter on Global Positioning Systems is useful and interesting. Field's book lacks any treatment of calibrating the equipment discussed, whereas B&F provide a thorough discussion on calibration of equipment, especially of transits and compasses. Since my transit is a vintage 1945 Keuffel and Esser model, I found this particularly useful.

Field's book provides numerous figures although, in some cases, the figures could be improved. For example, Field discusses converting slope distances to horizontal distances. The supporting figure 4.2 could be significantly improved with some inset triangles showing distances and angles with appropriate labels. There is no discussion of errors and accuracy. In contrast, B&F includes a thorough discussion of errors, and has numerous suggestions for improved accuracy.

The text in Field's book could also be improved. In numerous instances, sloppy writing leads to confusion. To cite one example, in a discussion of "profile leveling", the author states, "Reducing the precision for both these two illustrations could easily double the number of stations" (p. 81). In fact, the author must have meant that an increase in precision could easily lead to doubling the number of stations.

In summary, I found Breed and Hosmer's book to be far superior to Field's, and far better suited to my purpose. However, Field's book provides a useful summary for someone wishing to get a feel for surveying.I give Field's book 3 stars, and Breed and Hosmer's book five stars.