On my last visit to my Mom’s house I picked up an old civil engineering pocketbook that had been my great-great grandfather’s, who was the chief engineer in the construction of the Missouri Iron Mountain Railroad and later became a farmer in Kankakee County, Illinois. The pocket book was published in 1872 and is densely packed with information.
The preface is interesting, and contains some thoughts that are relevant today. The author is straightforward in stating that the book is for young practicing engineers, and states that not many engineers are also gifted mathematicians. I’d have to agree with that and say that in my engineering education, the most valuable lectures and classes were the ones where the lecturer emphasized practical application of the course theory.
