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Book review |
University of Surrey, UK
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This is the second edition of a book first published in 1994. The book is aimed primarily at students with no knowledge of geology and attempts to provide a distillation of the fundamental information in an easy-to-read and very visual format. The book can be considered as a springboard by which the reader may be launched into the complexities of topics presented in more weighty tomes, armed with sufficient basic knowledge to provide a better understanding of them.
The book covers material that forms the basis of a university module on engineering geology. The topics include:
These are covered in 40 double-page (A4 format) spreads. For each subject key information is given in note form instead of being lost in continuous text. Much use is made of diagrams, tables and short case histories.
In condensing quite large and complex topics such as sedimentary rocks, geophysical surveys or soil strength into two A4 pages it is inevitable that the material is simplified to a considerable degree. In some cases, however, the material is oversimplified to the extent of being misleading. For example, the importance of effective stress in the section on soil strength is not emphasized adequately. In most cases, however the information provided is good and is reinforced and enhanced through provision of a bibliography that is cross referenced to each section giving key
