Customer Reviews

Soils and Foundations (5th Edition)

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

 

 

I purchased this text for a soils and foundation class. On the surface, the text is well put together and it provides clear explanations and calculations to a wide range of soil problems. This book is a keeper because of the ease of the reading and illustrations.
I took a soils class at another school and that course was more speculative and the text I had for that class doesn't compare to this text. This text is more practical and application based which gives you a more hands on feel.
If you are taking a soils course and this is not the required text; I would recommend it as a reference for you.
Good luck in your studies and always remember "NEVER CALL IT DIRT!"
Dirt is dirty and soil is a natural resource of the earth's minerals. :-)

This book explains the subject of soils and foundations in a straight-forward manner that is not terse and steeped in needless derivations or largely unnecessarily advanced math. I've even seen one book on this subject that delves into finite element analysis. Instead, this book explains its subject manner succinctly, along with equations, and then uses those equations in numerous examples. There are plentiful diagrams and end-of-chapter exercises with solutions to about half of the problems in the back of the book. I notice that the table of contents is missing from the product description so I add that next:

1 Formation of Natural Soil Deposits
2 Engineering Properties of Soils
3 Soil Exploration
4 Soil Compaction and Stabilization
5 Water in Soil
6 Stress Distribution in Soil
7 Consolidation of Soil and Settlement of Structures
8 Shear Strength of Soil
9 Shallow Foundations
10 Pile Foundations
11 Drilled Shaft Foundations
12 Lateral Earth Pressure
13 Retaining Structures
14 Stability Analysis of Slopes

Nothing in the book talks about scholastic preparation for this subject, but I would recommend that you have a year of engineering physics and a class on statics. The book's equations also involve some calculus, such as when determining the water content in soil in chapter five, but it is nothing overly involved. Most of the book's mathematics involves nothing more advanced than some trigonometry.

this book is very helpful in fidnding how to calculate the properties of soil i have not yet been through the entire book.

This book is written in a sensible way where we do not have to study theories. It provides all the basics in plain english without compromise, or holding back. I would recommend this book for all students preparing for the professional Engineers exam, the afternoon session in conjunction withe the 3 DVDs offered by Liiban Affi from [...]. Both would serve you well.