2 stars (Way too many errata for a recommendation) - I have been using this book for six months in two different courses, and have nearly completed it.
While the content is fine, the number of errata in this book should not be tolerated.
On the book's web page, numerous errata are listed, but there are many more that have not been reported or compiled. While trying to study this book, the errata keep getting in the way of understanding the material, as there are wrong equations, bad tables, etc.
This book is in its tenth printing, and it is simply inexcusable that this many errata are allowed to remain in the book after so many printings.
Another reviewer (an educator who has the edition with answers in the back) mentioned the number of incorrect answers in the educators edition as well.
So, if you have a choice, look elsewhere for an elementary surveying text. The authors and/or publishers of this one obviously do not care enough to correct the numerous errors which confuse the student.
1 stars (how to survive the use of this book) - this book is terrible! There are very few helpful illustrations, some simply don't exist ie in the defining of angles and their relationships! for some problems/projects that are fairly involved, several completely different data sets are used, so if you were confused about something on one step you cannot derive understanding from the completion of the problem. So, you are forced to rely on the horrible text written partially in crat -things are explained in the longest possible way! The author and our instructor use different terms, it is awful.My tip: rely on lectures and labs and don't miss a single one, get a study budy or work with your lab partner immediately after class. AVOID USING THIS BOOK IF IT CONFUSES YOU like it does me. I came to this class with a fair understanding most of this already but the book muddles it up so bad I was forced to abandon use of it.
5 stars (Elementary Surveying) - Simply the best surveying text. The best feature is the way it introduces the basic concepts of a topic followed by a section of advanced concepts concerning the topic. This makes the book an essential reference for both students and practioners. This book is highly recommended. |
