fundamentals of structural stability -is it worth buying

huangyhg

"fundamentals of structural stability" -is it worth buying??
hi,
i am considering purchasing the book fudamentals of structural stability with the intent of enhancing my understanding of structural systems. a couple areas in particular that i would like to understand better are: beam & column structures (building frames), and floating roofs in api tanks.
can anyone provide me with a review of this book?
do you think it would be a good buy in regards to my needs?
thanks,
jcoots
who is (are) the author(s)?
the authors are: george simitses & dewey hodges
published dec 20th 2005
isbn 978-0-7506-7875-9
if you get a used book ($38 or so) this is not a bad bargin for any book.
timoshenko is the industry classic on stability and all things mechanics such as elasticity, mechanics of matierals etc.
generally what these books offer is the background for how engineers develop the formulas for stability.  as such if you're a building engineer and never get into any crazy arrangements or loadings (thermal or prestressing steel) then i don't see why a typical steels book wouldn't do the job.
the steels text will take the basic formulations from a timoshenko and the like and will place restrictions on it.  the end result is the charts in aisc etc.
just my $0.02.
regards,
qshake
eng-tips forums:real solutions for real problems really quick.
joe yura (with univ. of texas) is also a great expert on stability and is heavily involved in aisc's provisions for stability.
"guide to stability design criteria for metal structures" by the structural stability research council is one of the best.  i have the 3 or 4 edition and i think they have an update...
dik