Editorial Review

Composition teachers throughout the English-speaking world have been pushing this book on their students since it was first published in 1957.Co-author White later revised it, and it remains the most compact and lucid handbook we have for matters of basic principles of composition, grammar, word usage and misusage, and writing style. ... Read more

Reviews (286)

Do You Dread Looking Things Up?
The Elements of Style makes grammatical research so easy, you'll want to look up things you'd always wondered about but thought would take too much time. Recently someone asked me about the use of the serial comma, and, as it was about text we were going to put on the dust jacket of a book, it was sufficiently important to look up. It turned out to be the second item in the Table of Contents. First you get the general rule, in this case "In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last." The example given is "gold, silver, or copper." The sole exception is a series of names in a business: "Brown, Shipley and Co." There! With thirty seconds effort, the issue was adjudicated. I can't recommend it highly enough. Thank God for the Fourth Edition. My Third Edition is dog-eared with use.

Important Reading
This little book is important reading for any one who has or is desiring to write. One of the best things that I could say about the book is that it is full of examples that are juxtaposed. Every element is clearly defined in such a way that any one can easily see the difference between the examples given. This book is a "how to" book for proper use of english in written form. It seemingly covers everything you could imagine from the use of commas and omiting needless words to expressing yourself clearly and not overwriting. The five chapters are: 1. Elementary Rules of Usage 2. Elementary Principles of Composition 3. A Few Matters of Form 4. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused 5. An Approach to Style.
Absolutely Indispensable!
Anyone doing any writing, regardless of the purpose, must have a copy of this handy little reference book right next to their dictionary and thesaurus. "Elements of Style" is an indispensable little guide full of superb tips for the correct use of the English language. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. English Composition    3. English language    4. Grammar    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Literary style    8. Reference    9. Report writing    10. Rhetoric    11. Style    12. Technical Writing    13. Writing Skills    14. English    15. Technology / Technical Writing    16. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (5)

very technical
The book was ok but it made for very difficult reading; it was very technical.I had to purchase it for class.Luckily I had a good professor who could break down the concepts more clearly.I would, however, suggest that Devry get an easier book to digest next time.

Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation
This book includes many good papers and many hi-tech business cases associated with technology and innovation management. Some of them are a little old but still useful to understand strategic management. If you have learned general management and marketing and want to get a view of the management of technology and innovation, this is worthwhile reading.

a useful collection of case studies and key papers
This book offers a large number of case studies from the areas of research and technology development in various industries. It covers most the important concepts of technology management such as "corecompetencies". It follows the traditional model employed in businessschools: learning from others' experiences by means of case studies.Particularly relevant are the sections on "heavyweight teams". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Automation    2. Business & Economics    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. High technology industries    6. Management    7. New products    8. Technological innovations    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Business & Economics / General    11. Computer Software Packages   

Reviews (21)

There are better options
I own several books on Control Systems (including this one), but if you have to buy just one and you are in the process of choosing it, I would recommend Katsuhiko Ogata's Modern Control Engineering.
Sucks
Well first off the book does not do a good job of providing sufficient examples on how to do things. On top of that the solution manual you can get online through those 2 ppl that are selling it is useless. It has all the problems worked out wrong...just my luck!

Good Sections on PID and Multivariable
As a practicing engineer, I found the book's sections on PID controllers and Multivariable control to be more informative than my other references, including the venerable Ogata.
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Subjects:  1. Automation    2. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    3. Engineering - General    4. Engineering - Mechanical    5. Feedback Control Systems (Engineering)    6. Feedback control systems    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Technology    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Automatic control engineering    11. Electrical engineering    12. Electronics & Communications Engineering    13. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Reviews (21)

Simply Excellent! Fully Justifies Its Price!
The preface of this book starts with a quote:
Excellent book for Image Processing
This book feeds the readers all the basic concepts of Image Processing. Very easily understandable and lucid in explanations. I would rate it one among the best EE books published so far.

OK book for 1st or 2nd year undergrads
I am giving this book 4 stars because it's quite descriptive and easy to follow.It covers some of the basic concepts behind digital image analysis and touches on the more general signal processing concepts, but it doesn't go very deep into the actual math.This may be what you want, but for me it was an assigned text for a 4th year undergrad course I took in college, and I found it inadequate.I felt like I could have written this book before I even started the class.At the same time, though, I think it would have been a great text for a more entry-level course.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Graphics - General    2. Digital Image Processing    3. Digital techniques    4. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    5. Image processing    6. Imaging Systems    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Technology    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Reviews (8)

Better Writing
This book is a step-by-step instruction to different kinds of technical writing. It is easy to understand and follow. The topics are well organized and clearly outlined, which makes it easy to read.
teacher ed. unexpected
i was supprised that it was the teachers edition but it will still be usefull thanks

This book is better than what some reviewers write!
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Subjects:  1. Communication of technical information    2. Science/Mathematics    3. Technical Writing    4. Technology    5. Technology & Industrial Arts    6. English    7. Technology / Technical Writing    8. Technology: General Issues    9. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (5)

Expensive for Students, Expansive for Instructors
I have been teaching with Markel's 7th ed. for almost two years now, and I find that the book provides a springboard for all sorts of discussions into the wild world of Technical Writing. I can typically get through about three quarters of the book in a semester, and I am constantly tweaking the class to allow students more access to the material from this book.
Owner's review
This book is in awesome shape, I used it for an online course, so i have never carried in a book bag.No markings, and very very minimal corners bent.

Interesting and real world scenarios
I teach technical writing at a community college and frequently switched textbooks until I discovered Mike Markel's.It is well organized, gives 8 measures of excellence in technical writing that students quickly grasp, has very up-to-date scenarios that prompt critical reading and writing and the online quizzes and resources are the frosting on the cake.This book is a great tool for educators, students and absolutely anyone who wishes to write in a professional manner. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    2. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Technical Writing    5. Technology    6. Telecommunications    7. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing   

Reviews (6)

Technical Writing : Process and Product (5th Edition)
This book contains plenty of good information on the process of technical writing. It is however very difficult to read, because of the only style is that it is constantly varying. The authors should take some of their own advice in any future editions.

Technically very good
We use this text by Gerson and Gerson for the technical writing class at the community college where I work. It is an incredibly useful book, particularly for those who are beginning their college careers, and for those who are going into technical fields that require clarity and precision.
Useful and valuable ....
Terrific, easily readable, and highly recommended for tech writers and those learning the craft, as well as for those corporate staff who will work with tech writers.
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Subjects:  1. English language    2. Rhetoric    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Technical English    5. Technical Writing    6. Technology    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. English    9. Technology / Technical Writing    10. Technology: General Issues    11. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (32)

Best introductory book to GIS
I am taking a class on GIS applications in public health and this book has been extremely helpful. It is simple, easy to follow, and the step-by-step exercises are the best.

Very good book for begineers
I was starting with Arc products and this book was a very good start.

Excellent Resource and teaching manual
I purchased this book to be able to create my own maps for a client.I was familiar with ArcGIS Desktop 8.3, but had never really created any GIS data.Using this book, I was able to create custom shape files, MXDs and layer files that really impressed the client.The author assumes little or no previous knowledge of using the product and does an outstanding job putting the information in the simplest of terms.Unlike the books that come with the software, this one will actually have you creating GIS data in no time flat.Well worth the money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. ArcGIS    2. ArcGIS (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Data Modeling & Design    9. Earth Sciences - Geography    10. Geographic information systems    11. Geography    12. Graphical user interfaces (Com    13. Graphical user interfaces (Computer systems)    14. Information Systems (Geography)    15. Miscellaneous Software    16. Remote Sensing    17. Computer Software Packages    18. Computers / Data Modeling & Design    19. Geographical information systems (GIS)    20. Map making & projections   

Reviews (2)

Technical Writing
This book is very easy to read and understand. I ordered this book as a supplement to my current book used at my school. I would highly recommend this book to other new technical writers.
Practical and Educational
As the title mentions, Technical Writing 101, provides real-world planning tips. I found it to be very engaging, informative and very easy to read (finished within 24 hours of receiving it). It also sparked ideas on how I could look at a lot of projects I'm personally working on. The way the book is organized doesn't overload you with "too" much information. It also is very generous in providing other resources for further research and knowledge.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business Writing    3. Business/Economics    4. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing    5. Technical Writing    6. Technology & Industrial Arts    7. Technology / Technical Writing    8. Composition & Creative Writing    9. Handbooks, manuals, etc    10. Language Arts & Disciplines    11. Technology    12. Writing and publishing   

Reviews (12)

Great Text!!
As a student in control systems engineering, I found this text to be very valuable (I had the 3rd Edition then).As an engineer, I found it to be my everyday reference.A few years back, I jumped ship from the engineering field and have obtained a PhD in another field of science and to my surprise, I still reference this text today.Great Text!!Dorf and Bishop is not bad but Nise takes first place.

Best Book for understanding the fundamentals of Control Systems
Norman Nise has done a great job with this book.This book is a first hand guide for beginners who have absolutely no knowledge of Control Systems and its purposes. The book with its details of each methodology & its purposes gives an indepth view of the subject. This is excellent tool for beginners (for understanding the fundamentals) and gradually upgrading to a better level by able to design systems. The Skill Assessment Exercises are able to bring out the key techniques to solve any problem. A must buy for all people interested in Control Systems Engineering and looking for a book where fundamentals can be cleared.

Very well written but a bit too "Mickey Mouse"
For an applied math (and physics, to an extent) text, it is surprisingly interesting! The chapters are pretty easy reads but the coverage is thorough. In fact, it's too thorough at times. Nise has a little habit of taking a relatively simple concept and beating it to death. However, this is a good thing if you're a slow learner.
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Subjects:  1. Automatic control    2. Automation    3. Electronics - General    4. Engineering - Mechanical    5. Industrial Technology    6. Robotics    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Systems Engineering    9. Technology    10. Technology & Industrial Arts    11. Automatic control engineering    12. Technology / Electronics / General   

Reviews (10)

A true introductory book on Control Engineering
A true introductory book on Control Engineering
Great book!
This book helped me a lot while I was studing Control Theory at college. It has very clear examples and it is well written.

For whom want to master the subject!
This text is not just thorough in its covered material. It covers more material than all other undergrad. level control texts I've ever seen. It treats thoroughly both state-space and the transform approaches which makes this text somehow unique. The text opens your eyes to the P,PI,PD and PID controllers in the very beginning which is thrilling for first time control students. As a matter of fact, the text is more focused on mechanical engineers interests than those of the electrical engineers. I consider the concept itself neutral :) which ECS/EE majors might share with ME(s).
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Subjects:  1. Automatic control    2. Automation    3. Control Engineering    4. Control theory    5. Counseling - Vocational Guidance    6. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    7. Engineering - Mechanical    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Technology    10. Technology & Industrial Arts    11. Engineering: general    12. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Reviews (1)

Never out in print fast enough
Paul Aubin has done it again.Like my title says, Paul Aubin's books never come out fast enough for me.This book is a great resource for ADT users.There have been a lot of changes since ADT first came out.The major changes started in ADT 2004 and continue on thru ADT 2007.The changes from ADT 2006 to ADT 2007 are covered very well in this book.He takes you step by step thru a residential project & a commercial project.As you go thru the book he not only shows you how you command(s) work, but also why.He also gets into the subtle changes that have come about, e.g. Visual Styles.The books is arranged in such a way that you can be productive in ADT 2007 as you go along in the book.You don't have to wait until you are completed with the book to be productive.You can also move around in the book to go over a certain part of ADT without having to work your way up to it.For example, if you are just getting thru adding windows & doors & your work project needs to add a roof, you can go to the section of the book that covers roofs & you will be able to understand how to work roofs from reading the section withour having to do the sections before.But, if you can, go thru the book in the order that it's written to get the best grasp of ADT that you can.You can truly expect your skills to rise at least one level from going thru the book.
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Subjects:  1. Architectural Drawing    2. AutoCAD    3. Autodesk Architectural desktop    4. CAD-CAM - General    5. Computer Architecture - General    6. Computer Books: General    7. Computer-aided design    8. Computers    9. Computers - General Information    10. Design & Drafting    11. Drafting & Mechanical Drawing    12. Technology / Engineering / Mechanical   

Reviews (3)

Yes Indeed.
Yes indeed this book was/is (I still crack it open)very helpful to me. Before I read this book, or took the class that used this book, I was a very bad speller. My grammer was poor and my writing technique was even worse. If this book helped me I am sure it will help you.

Excellent book for college and your career
Finally, a complete text that is always useful.I have read this book over and over... each time learning something new.It's great if you need a complete and extensive description or a quick overview.This book willgo from your college backpack to the desk of your new exciting job!

An Excellent Guide to Business Writing
This book is an excellent tool for writing, especially for the non-native English writer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a study guide with many examples that have been updated for the current business environment. The numerous samples and the grammar review are veryhelpful for studying the fundamentals. This book is extremely relevant in abusiness world crowded with a cornucopia of poor writing, misspelling, andincorrect grammar usage. My heartfelt thanks to Ms. Guffey for writing suchan excellent guide. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business Communication - General    3. Business English    4. Business communication    5. Business writing    6. Business/Economics    7. English language    8. Technical Writing    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Business communication & presentation   

Reviews (5)

Very good introduction
I had never used matlab when I started reading this book and I found it very easy to follow.I now have a good working understanding of the matlab basics and I recommend that anyone who's looking to get started with matlab pick up a copy.

The perfect introductory text for MATLAB
If you are completely new to MATLAB then you will find no better book to guide you through the basics.It is perfectly suited for teaching yourself several basic but still very interesting and useful programming techniques.Topics are presented to the reader in an order carefully determined to produce maximum benefit and knowledge.The book is short and very readable, with many example programs.
A truly excellent text!
This book was written for teaching Matlab to freshmen in an introductory engineering course, so most of the examples are from first year physics and engineering.Nevertheless, after looking at all competing texts, I chose it to teach Matlab to sophomore geology majors, most of whom had not yet taken calculus or physics.I was very happy with the results; by the end of the semester the students were well on their way to being competent programmers, and I think they will find calculus and physics much easier because of their experience with this book.
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Subjects:  1. Automation    2. Data processing    3. Engineering - General    4. General    5. MATLAB    6. Numerical analysis    7. Programming - General    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Technology    10. Technology & Industrial Arts    11. Mathematical & statistical software    12. Technology / General   

Reviews (83)

Take care of yourself - immortality is near!

Caution, Maestro at Work
Ray Kurzweil is utterly relentless, merciless, and authoritative as he hammers home his vision of the future.He doesn't just make this stuff up, but opens his book with about fifty graphs depicting the exponential trends in current technology.Graphs depict the increase in computer power, its reduction in cost, the nanotechnological patents applied for, the size of chips, and so on. Dr. Kurzweil doesn't so much indicate trends, as prove that they are inevitable.
Theoretical Science Masterpiece
Kurzwell's vision isn't perfect.But part of the point of this book is that no one single person will comprise the evolutionary singularity, it will take every single part of humanity to plug into our world for that to happen.He's doing a relatively noble thing, standing on the edge of reality, and sending out a jolting vision of the future that is one of a kind.There's no need to worship Kurzwell, it's simply that people ought to pay attention to this theoretical science masterpiece and heed it's alarming beautiful call to arms against pessimism and backward oriented thought.Awesome. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biotechnology    2. Brain    3. Evolution    4. Genetics    5. Human Evolution    6. Life Sciences - Biology - General    7. Nanotechnology    8. Philosophy & Social Aspects    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Social Aspects    12. Technology And Social Change    13. Technology / Robotics   

Reviews (6)

A verbose tome that scratches the surface
Compared to the online help, this book reviews favorably. But Revit is a deep program, and to really use Revit efficiently and fully takes more than an "intermediate" book will offer, which the Aubin text admits to being. I say the text is verbose because, for instance, it always refers to Revit as "AutoDesk Revit Building", which gets very tiring. The book introduces Revit by designing two projects, which is nice, but a lot of the useful information is hidden in little sidebar tips, which makes using the book as a reference (for instance, as a command reference) difficult.

Mastering Autodesk Revit Building
I purchased this book because of the favorable reviews I read from this site. I wasn't dissapointed...this book delivered. I just recently got hired by a major architectural firm that uses Autodesk Revit Building. My background is Autocad ADT 2006 and have no idea at all what Revit is all about. Two weeks prior to my start with this new firm, I bought this book and diligently went through all of Mr. Aubin's tutorials every night. Now, two weeks into this new company, I am even, if not more advanced, with all their employees (they took the transition to Revit ten months ago)! On a few occasions, I had some questions pertaining to the book and Mr. Aubin had graciously replied promptly to these inquiries by email. If you're not yet using Revit, then you're missing a lot. This is the future of CAD. And if you decide to switch, this book is a must! Thanks for a great book Paul!

Must Buy it
If you need to learn or support those who are learning Revit Building, you can not afford to miss this book. Paul has a way with his writing that lets you get right to what you want to do. Whether you want to learn the basics or dive deep into advanced material Paul has it all. I've read other authors of autodesk products and felt shortchanged compared to Paul's indepth and easy to read methods. Do yourself a favor, buy this book and you will see that it will pay for itself many times over. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Drawing    2. Architectural design    3. CAD-CAM - General    4. Cad/Cam    5. Computer Books: General    6. Computer-aided design    7. Computers    8. Computers - General Information    9. Data processing    10. Design & Drafting    11. Engineering - General    12. Architectural structure & design    13. Computer graphics software    14. Technology / Engineering / General   

Reviews (3)

Excellent comprehensive text
To me, this book's greatest strength is instant applicability of theories and recipes presented in it. Virtually all topics in SAR are covered with great quality. There is no hard tie to any particular type of radar signals, which makes it very versatile.
One of the best texts on SAR signal processing
SAR imaging owes a lot to inverse scattering theory, coherence theory, Fourier optics and holography. Luckily, Soumekh comes from an optics background and therefore, is very comfortable with all the optics stuff. He has done an excellent job in presenting different modalities of SAR imaging like stripmap and spotlight and implementing the algorithms in matlab. There is a lot of depth in his book and every time I read it I understand something that I could not understand when I read it last time. I have become a fan of Soumekh. I also attended one of his tutorials based on this book in the SPIE symposium in Orlando Florida.

nice applications with heavy computations
Wasn't there once a time, in the depths of the Cold War, when Synthetic Aperture Radar was highly classified? It is still jarring to me to see a book like this, telling all and sundry about the many applications to which it can be directed.
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Subjects:  1. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    2. General    3. MATLAB    4. Mathematics    5. Radar    6. Radar Technology    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Signal processing    9. Synthetic aperture radar    10. Technology    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. Image processing    13. Mathematical theory of computation    14. Technology / Imaging Systems   

Subjects:  1. AutoCAD    2. CAD-CAM - General    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Drafting & Mechanical Drawing    7. Engineering graphics    8. Computer aided design (CAD)    9. Computers / CAD-CAM / General   

Reviews (3)

insufficient for all levels
I found this book to be inadequate at all levels. It does not go into sufficient detail for beginners, and neither does it provide rigor for the experienced controls student. Do yourself a favor and buy separate texts for the basics (like Brogan's Modern Control Theory) and for the advanced.

Good Book
Up to this time,there are no 5 stars books in Linear Systems. However,this book is one of the best 4 stars books available for the subject.Through the book, the author sometimes assumes that you know or understandsome topic, formula,...etc. without mentioning it. However,you can do it,but it may take you some time to figure out what it is. If you are goodenough in linear algebra you will have no problems to handle the book up tothe last page. Chapter 2 & 3 are the most important chapters in thebook because they prepare you for the rest of the book. MATLAB is beingused in a nice and helpful way to visualize some concepts and applicationsof the linear control theory. I recommend this book as a textbook for anintroductory linear systems course and also for self teaching purposes.

The Good, the Bad, and the Insufficent
My overall impression with this book is:satisfactory.Though there are a more errors then desired, and a few that are pretty confusing, the majority of the book is accurate and very instructive.I would recommendthis book as a reference for introductory treatment of Linear System Theoryand DI just completed this book in the beginning of March.Having aControls background I found this book both helpful and instructive, yetlacking in sufficient detailed explanation on some tough topics.Chapter2: 'Mathematical Descriptions of Systems' was very helpful with thedetailed definitions and easy examples. Chapter 3: 'Linear Algebra' is achapter that could use expanding.Some of the topics addressed in thissection are speedily discussed and rapidly completed.The first edition ofthis book was chided for it length.This edition must be chided for itbrevity.However, when lack of explanation abounds, examples and homeworkproblems can make up for deficient instruction.Chapters 4 through 6 areeasy to follow and through in their treatment.Chapter 7, however, isanother chapter where too much explanation was removed.The examples arehard to follow in this chapter, and there are a few very confusingmistakes.Chapters 8 and 9 are very well written, though confused attimes.However, they yield a sufficient knowledge of the addressed topics. Read more

Subjects:  1. Advanced    2. Computer Engineering    3. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    4. Linear systems    5. Mathematics    6. Robotics    7. Science/Mathematics    8. System design    9. Systems Analysis    10. Technology & Industrial Arts    11. Applied mathematics    12. Cybernetics & systems theory    13. Engineering & Technology | Electrical & Computer Engineering    14. Systems analysis & design    15. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Reviews (4)

Engineering Documentation
I am a British Chartered Engineer working mainly in Blue Chip energy-related companies. I have just started using this book in my work and find it strongly re-enforces my passion for excellent documentation and design management. It is clearly the current 'bible' forEngineering Documentation Control and is extremely valuable in showing how to climb the 'Configuration Management Ladder' (page 8). It cuts away the dross and complexity that is plentiful nearly everywhere else. So many of us technologists and managers are struggling with hugely powerful new computer packages that integrate most processes in our companies. This is one of the very few books to chart our course and give us a chance of a reliable way through to simplicity, speed and profitability that are so often promissed but so rarely fully attained.
Thorough Industry Configuration Management Resource...
...but not for Software CM. Great Inroduction to CM
Unlike the vast majority of books available on configuration management, this book, as the title suggests, focuses entirely on configuration management in industry.Throughout the book, the author focuses on a simplified, fast configuration management system that exceeds DoD standards.This book, in the chapters titled Change Control and Fast Change, has an exceptional explanation of how to handle configuration modifications.In these chapters the author gives a detailed description of how to set up a system that allows the fastest possible changes to take place.Also, many case studies are given in these sections which provide further insight as to how to implement the correct system for a given situation.Overall, the book is very easy to understand, and serves as an excellent introduction and handbook to a configuration management system for industry. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Configuration management    3. Documentation    4. Engineering    5. Engineering - General    6. Engineering - Industrial    7. Engineering Management    8. Management    9. Management - General    10. Production Engineering    11. Production management    12. Science/Mathematics    13. Technical Writing    14. Technology    15. Technology / Technical Writing    16. Construction & heavy industry    17. Engineering: general    18. Industrial quality control    19. Management & management techniques