Customer Reviews

Radar Principles for the Non-Specialist, Third Edition (Hardcover) (Scitech Radar and Defense)

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

 

 

Quite simply, the book is true to its title. This book is intended for scientists, engineers, mathematicians, managers, and other college-educated persons who need to interact intelligently with radar experts. J.C. Toomay's book won't make you an expert, but the consise, focused chapters will quickly acquaint you with the radar concepts you need to contribute in development or analysis of systems that include elements of radar technology. One note of caution is that this book does treat a very technical subject, and although Toomay doesn't spend pages deriving radar equations, the reader will need a good understanding of integral calculus and fourier analysis to get the most out of his book. A solid background in engineering or physical science is a thorough prerequisite for getting the most out of this book.

Highly recommended as an introduction to radar technology for those who don't plan to go back to college for a Masters degree in electrical engineering.

This book has the fewest errors and least misleading information on radar and propagation pound-for-pound of any books on electromagnetism I have seen. It outclasses Skolnik et al. It will not be found suitable for academic instruction because it is way too concise and is not threaded with obtuse mathematical premise as is wont of high level education, eventhough it has questions and answers with each chapter. This is your little book of big radar and electromagnetics.

The book appears small possibly insignificent; however, it contains a wealth of data invaluable to both military consultant, technical manager or boffin. As a resource it is nigh on perfect. It complements the Introduction to Radar book by Skolnik by offering the complex arguments within radar in an understandable format, allowing the reader to dive deeper into the subject area using Skolnik's tome.
Worth the money by far.

The book is well written and covers the majority of radar principles without overwhelming the reader with mathematical proofs or theory. It would make an excellent reference for non specialists that are studying other fields such as meteorology where radar has become an important part of the field of study. Basics are covered satisfactorily, allowing other references to be used for advanced study. Well done is a simple summary !

This book is a short survey to radar principles, unfortunately, it may not be a good pedagogical materials. First, it assumes the reader to have some background in radar engineering, secondly, some of the equations used are not rigorously presented. However, for a person who is well acquainted with the fundamentals of radar engineering, this book can be a good quick reference in his/her day-to-day work.

It's probably my own fault for getting the cheap radar textbook instead of the comprehensive one by Skolnik. I couldn't get past the first chapter of this book, not that's it hard. Far from it, it gives a very simple presentation of its subject matter - too simple, to the point that it leaves out the basics. It wouldn't even be so bad, except that when you get down to the end-of-the-chapter questions the author quizzes you about those basic things he didn't bother to tell you in the text. So it was with the first question of the first chapter. I spent hours boggled as to what role the "aperture" played in a radar's design; for those who don't know that's the term used by radar engineers for the area of their antenna, while a single sentence to that effect could have saved a lot of confusion - it was nowhere to be found. I had to look elsewhere to find answers to my most simple of questions. And if I'm going to look elsewhere, why use this simple book at all?

I suppose if you're already thoroughly familiar with radar engineering and want a point by point review this text may have some value. But as far as it's purported audience - novices who want to be brought up to speed - it just doesn't work. If he put in the details (like defining his technical jargon before usage) it might make sense, or at least if there were some worked out examples you might be able to piece things together, but lacking in both the former and the later the text is nothing but a frustration.

I just felt a need to set the record straight with respect to the completely wrong headed 1-star reviews given on Toomay's book by "Boo Boo" (his pseudo name should give you hint about his demeanor) and "the eel" (ditto). I'm a Physicist turned Radar Systems Engineer for going on 30 years now and I cut my teeth on this book when it was still an Air Force publication. It is simply a work of genius to be able to take a complex and intricate technical topic such as radars, and to be able to distill it and simplify it down to such fundamental core essence that anyone can learn and understand at least the basic principles: even if they are not an engineer. That was its intent then when it was first written and it is the intent today. And it masterfully succeeds at that. Even though I have long since graduated from Radar 101, I still have a copy handy in my library and I still find myself even today referencing it, if but only to use it to present a simple explanation of a radar concept to the less initiated. To compare this book to Skolnik is just plain absurd, and illustrates that these evaluators just completely missed the point of this book despite having supposedly read it. And, oh by the way, just because you have a copy of Skolnik on your shelf does not mean you have read it, nor does it mean you understand it, nor does it by itself make you a Radar Engineer. Skolnik left out an awful lot of stuff to get it down to still being a "HandBook". That means there is a lot of stuff you need to know or figure out yourself if you are actually going to evaluate or implement real radar techniques and technologies. Nor does Skolnik have everything about radar in it (despite its thickness). Radar is not a one book topic, and you need a library containing a multitude of books from at least the likes of Barton, Stimson, Richards, Mahafza, and a couple of dozen more to fill in the gaping holes left in Skolnik's admittedly classic tomb. And that does not even cover the more esoteric signal processing, target tracking or classification aspects of radar, which are full up disciplines all by themselves. Bottom line is that this is absolutely the very first book that EVERY aspiring Radar Engineer should have on their self. And once they have truly mastered it and moved on (and BTW, simplicity can be deceiving), give it to a Manager, Colonel or General so you have a chance of actually talking semi-intelligently to them about Radar. That is both the purpose and the magic of this classic incredibly well executed little book. If you think you are too smart or too mathematical to own a copy, then get one for the rest of the people you need to interface with. It will make your job a whole lot easier, and you might yet learn something from it!

The book arrived on time and it is new as announced. Thank you very much for your great service.

You have got to be kidding. This book is in its third edition and still it is filled with nonsense. I have read some of this book. It is the worst book I have seen in any technical field. Please don't waste your money.