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January 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt (in review )REVIEWED BY THOMAS LAMB I looked forward to reading this book in anticipation that it would be interesting and instructive. I was disap- pointed. Perhaps I should have been forewarned by the title, as the book lists each element as a separate, disconnected entry. is is a not a book to read from cover to cover. It is prepared more like a dictionary or glossary of ship and shipbuilding terms, with accompanying sketches/ photos. It is obvious that it was the authors intent for it to be used by maritime students to look up specific components (elements), rather than to read to learn how ships are constructed. However, even this use is dicult as many of the elements are not listed in alphabetical order in each chapter or section. e book may be useful to maritime students, but I would not recommend it for naval architecture students or ship- builders in general. ere are better and more useful books available to them. Although the figures are numbered, they are not referenced in the text, so it is very dicult to see the con- nection. e content quality (not the reproduction) of the gures is poor with many too primitive and out of date. For example, some structural gures are for riveted construc- tion (without the riveting) and most are too simplistic to be of help in appreciating the real detailed component. Many are missing important components such as brack- ets. Figure 4.42 for stealer plates is incorrect. ough it is the authors stated intent that the book assist maritime students to become aware of the many changes in the ship building industry, it fails to do so, as much of the information is out of date. For exam- ple, reference is made to 1968 CGT coecients rather than 2007 (there are now 2010 coecients). Also, the book refers to block construction as prefabrication or prefab even though most shipbuilders use the terms block and grand block construction. Prefab has not been used since the 1970s, even in the UK. ere is no reference to zone construction or advanced out- tting, two essential modern shipbuilding practices. As a further example, on page 279, Figure A1.21, illus- trating aluminum-to-steel connections, shows lapped and bolted/riveted connections even though welded bi-metal connections have been used for 25 years. e terminology used is often strange, an example being the term Torpedo Hull,? in Figure 6.34 on page 193, for the main hull of a trimaran, which bears no resem- blance to a torpedo. In summary, this is not a book I would keep in my library on shipbuilding. MTProfessor Lamb is a Fellow of SNAME and a PE. Among his many con- tributions to the society were his services as editor and an author of the SNAME textbook, Ship Design and Construction .REVIEWED BY F. GREGG BEMIS JR. Naval architects and marine engineers are charged with the intellectual chal- lenge of designing the best possible task-ori- ented vessels. ey also carry the additional burden of providing the safest possible environment for those onboard these vessels, particularly with regard to the unanticipated accidents that can occur in spite of the best intentions and eorts of operating management. To fully appreciate the seriousness of this charge, it is perhaps useful to understand, as intimately as possible, the results of unanticipated and devastating Must-Read History and Maybe-Read Reference Elements of Modern Ship Construction By David J. House PUBLISHED BY BROWN, SON & FERGUSON, LTD. Flashes in the Night By Jack Nelson PUBLISHED BY APPRENTICE HOUSE, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY