iGEM Book Review

 

Earthquake Damage: Inspection, Evaluation and Repair

by Gennaro G. Marino

Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company Inc., 1997

The first and only book of its kind, written by a fellow civil engineer, Gennaro G. Marino, in a unique, engineer-to-engineer style. You will hear, between the lines, the friendly, honest advice, "brother, don't even try this, it won't work; I know, I tried, OK? I'm telling you, this is what needs to be done for that."

Naturally, walking through the same devastation after an earthquake, people with different backgrounds see different things, and react in different ways. An insurance agent, for example, will probably see buckets of dollars going down the drain, as he looks at the damaged structures. Another "adjuster" may look for clues for blaming the damage on soil conditions; I can hear a lawyer yelling in a courtroom to the expert witness, "You are a geotechnical engineer, sir, can't you tell this damage existed before the eathquake because of shabby construction of this foundation?"

An engineer will have these questions: How did this happen? What should we do to prevent it in the next earthquake? And, as Dr Marino does, How do we fix this?

The first few chapters of Marino's book are devoted to giving the reader the necessary background of earthquake engineering, in case you need a quick, refresher chat. Of course, the lawyers involved need that in order to appear as though they know what they are talking about.

Then comes detailed, but not boring explanation of each type of damage that you will find, as any engineer would walking through the wreckage of an earthquake.

Glossary at the end is a very useful resource. Though sometimes not very accurate. For example, P and S waves are actually Primary and Secondary waves (named so because of their arrival times at a seismograph station) not Pressure and Shear waves---it's such a nice coincidence, though; engineers like that.

Read about this amazing author, a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering, Gennaro G. Marino, P.E. Believe me, he knows what he is talking about.

---

You can find more information and order online with a few clicks, and have it either delivered to your door, or to your Kindle in a minute at Amazon.com, and make sure you read it before, and take it with you when you go on a site visit.

For corrections, complaints, and praise, email to:

© Copyright Mete Oner, 2011