Reviews for Karl Terzaghi: The Engineer As Artist

The average rating for Karl Terzaghi: The Engineer As Artist based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-08-18 00:00:00 Ira Uland Karl Terzaghi possessed the mindset that is needed to be an expert in any engineering field. This vastly complex mindset can't easily be expressed in my online review since I am not nearly as capable a writer as Richard Goodman. However, if I were to give a brief explanation as to why every civil engineer should learn about this individual, it would be because of Terzaghi's scholarly spirit, which could make the most mundane thing become a complex and beautiful subject (in an engineering sort of way). Terzaghi could make dirt look interesting, which, in fact, he did. He made dirt so interesting that it turned into a field of knowledge (soil mechanics) which is now commonly taught in every credible engineering university. I don't want to reveal much about Terzaghi, but the reason I became attached to this biography is because Goodman excellently portrayed a parallel between Terzaghi's youth and old age. Terzaghi's youthful days were written with the right amount of detail to foreshadow his academic pursuits in which he chased wildly; from horseback riding in the American West to find soil samples, to assisting the most complex engineering feats in human history such as the construction of the Aswam Dam. As a young man who is planning on becoming a geotechnical engineer, I was inspired by Terzaghi's rough start into his career, and was stunned by his pursuit of knowledge even through the political turmoil of Europe during WWI and WWII, which affected him a great deal both financially and emotionally. This book is just what I needed to receive a historical context for my field of study. I gave this book four stars because I believe it needed to be more inclusive to other audiences. In the later half of this biography, Goodman described Terzaghi's projects and feats using technical lingo which only geotechnical engineers would understand. There were, however, brief times where Goodman would explain in clearer detail what was being done in some of Terzaghi's engineering projects which the common engineer would understand. Since Terzaghi may be one of the most influential civil engineers in modern history, I believe his engineering feats need to be explained more plainly for other civil engineers who are not geotechnical to truly marvel at his engineering genius. This would be my only criticism.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-04-24 00:00:00 John Rix good