design books

OurPrice: $46.99

The Art of the Streamliner
by Bob Johnson (Author) / Joe Welsh (Author) / Metrobooks (Editor)

DesignAddict review:

By the early 20th century, as the railroad became a vital means of moving people and goods, trains and locomotives became the focus of some of the world's finest mechanical engineers and industrial designers. From this increased attention arose perhaps the most elegant land-based form of transportation in human history: the streamlined train. Relive their glory through magnificent photographs of these cars, which show both their elegant interiors and their graceful shapes speeding across the countryside. Here are the ever-more luxurious rolling accommodations for the discriminating traveler, with increasingly spacious sleeper cars and dining rooms that came to resemble those in four-star restaurants. Written and researched by a team of veteran transportation historians and illustrated with more than 175 black-and-white and full-color pictures, this tribute honors not only the dazzling passenger cars, but also the legendary designers, and presents the gorgeous promotional brochures and posters used to entice passengers.

OurPrice: $30.43

The Leading Edge (Engineering and Performance)
by Goro Tamai (Author) / Bentley Publishers (Editor)

The Leading Edge is the first book to summarize the aerodynamic design and construction issues of solar cars and ultralight land vehicles. Author Goro Tamai draws on his own experience in designing solar cars at MIT to produce a book for the ground-up streamlined land-vehicle designer or constructor, as well as for the solar/electric/ultralight vehicle enthusiast. As with any engineering problem, the "best" body shape for solar cars, HPVs, or Electrathoners is not the body of absolute lowest drag. The vehicle system, including the driver, chassis, and energy/drive system must work in concert to produce the maximum output. The Leading Edge will help designers quantify the trade-offs, and make logical decisions.

- Vehicles covered include solar cars, human-powered vehicles (HPV), solar bikes, electrathon racers, ground-up hybrid or pure electric vehicles, and fuel-economy record cars

- Numerous examples using specific race cars and teams, and how designers solved problems

- Full definition of terms, with equations and examples provided for determining key aerodynamic parameters

- All design and construction issues, from body shape, to wheels, to canopy integration, to solar panel sizing

- How to do in-the-field testing and diagnosis of aerodynamic performance

- Special overview section reviews the history of ultra-streamlined land vehicle development

"An excellent review of the problem of low-drag ground vehicle aerodynamics, filled with references and design examples. It allows the reader to understand the issues involved and quickly come up with a preliminary design, leaving time for the oft-neglected detail work and testing." Jacek Gromadzki, aerodynamicist, 1997 University of Waterloo Solar Car Team

"The Leading Edge is an extensive treatise on the aerodynamics of streamlined land vehicles...It is a valuable contribution towards advancing the technology in this important field." Mark Drela, Professor, MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

"I wish I had access to this book when I was designing human-powered vehicles. While I've read a lot of the same references, this book pulls them all together and I might have done things a little differently." Douglas Milliken, co-author of Race Car Vehicle Dynamics (SAE, 1995)

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OurPrice: $7.52

Understanding Boat Design
by Ted Brewer (Author) / International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press (Editor)

For new boating enthusiasts--even if they've been at it awhile--there are scores of burning questions. If one boat has a round bottom and another's is veed, what difference does it make in the way they perform? What are the advantages of a cutter rig over a sloop? Why does one sailor swear by a full keel, while others won't have anything but a fin keel? Why does one powerboat have more flare in its topsides than another? And what is flare? Why do some hull shapes look "right"? How big an engine and propeller will it take to move that powerboat? What elements make a boat safe, or comfortable?

Understanding Boat Design has been the place to look for quick, uncomplicated answers since 1971. Founder of the Yacht Design Institute, a highly respected designer for more than 30 years, and a frequent contributor to SAIL, Cruising World, and other magazines, Ted Brewer has again revised his classic primer. This new volume has been greatly expanded and contains information on many aspects of design that were not even thought of twenty years ago.

Understanding Boat Design has eased tens of thousands of readers into the complex world of small-craft design. It is the ideal introduction for backyard boatbuilders, students of boat design, or someone looking to buy a first boat.

"This tight little book should be required reading."--Soundings

"A natural for those embarking on a first purchase, or the amateur builder."--Sailing

"One of the cleanest and clearest expositions on the elements of yacht design ever published . . . by a naval architect who knows what he is talking about."--WoodenBoat

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