Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Aerodynamic
Nice little book for beach or summer reading for engineers.No formulas, just text, anecdotes and history.A nice little book indeed.

It stands the Test of Time
This book was originally published more than 50 years ago.Some things, such as our understanding of supersonic flight and rocketry, have changed quite a bit since that time.However, much of aerodynamics was well understood in the 1950's.This book does what it claims very well.It describes the basics of aerodynamics and provides some history of how our understanding developed.

I also recommend 'Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators', originally published by the US Navy, as another classic book that can provide one with a good foundation, but does not require extensive advanced math.

First Text book
This was the first aero text book I bought. It was for a freshman engineering orientation class, September 1968. Even at that time, the professor commented it was more for the history in it then for teaching. The professor was a friend of Von Karman and I think we had to buy it for that reason.

For an aerospace orientation course, we could have done much better.

Reprint of a classic in aeronautics
Long out of print, this gem of a book is once again available thanks to Dover Publications.The text corresponds to the author's Messenger Lectures at Cornell University in the spring of 1953.An overview of the history of aerodynamic thought, aimed at the non-specialist as well as students of aeronautics, the book conveys the essential ideas in our understanding of the science of flight.Written at a time when supersonic flight was but six years old and orbital spaceflight was four years in the future, the book remains remarkably fresh.The text is enlivened by von Karman's wit and reminiscences of many of the greats of twentieth century aerodynamics.The references at the end of each of the six chapters, many extending into the nineteenth century, are a delightful bonus, underlining how our present aerodynamic theory has roots that extend well before the advent of heavier-than-air flight.Only the author's speculation on the potential of spaceflight is dated.Yet even this provides a fascinating window into the mind of one of the masters of aeronautics.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An outstanding life
A largely autobiographical account that brings to life a wonderful character who conributed much to the advancement of aeronautics. Love his ebullience or deplore his self-advertisment of his undoubted genius, this is the man himself, warts and all. Much to be recommended.

immensly enjoyable
One doesn't need to know how important scientific and technological advances and ideas came about to exploit them. To learn their historical development is lots of fun though and dr von Karman is a wonderful story teller.

Science and History Come to Life
An excellent (auto)biography of the famous scientist of aerodynamics. It is written in a non-technical language, enjoyable for everyone (Karman was renown for the clarity of his explanations). We get an original insightbehind the scenes of political and scientific life of the first half ofthis century through the recital of his trips to many countries of theworld, where he participated in scientific or national/military projects,and his encounters with leading figures of his time (both scientific andpolitical).

An other perspective on the life of a scientist, on scienceand history, from a personal point of view. In addition, if you know somephysics you will recognize the names of most of the leading figures of theera. You find some amusing anecdotes about these people.

I recommend thisbook for people interested in the (amazing) life of a scientist, placed inan easy-to-follow scientific and historical context.

Biography of Theodore van Karman - famous fluid dynamicist.
If you are intersted in the history of technology then this book would interest you. Fluid mechanics, turbulence and early flight are covered; with refernces to many early theoreticians such as Prandtl and Blasius. ... Read more

Product Description
An elegantly bound collection of some 140 published papers by this brilliant scientist and mathematician (1887-1963), a leading figure of 20th-century aerodynamics and aerospace science. The set includes four volumes issued in 1956 to commemorate Von Karman's 70th birthday; these feature papers published between 1902 and 1951, most in English but with many in Von Karman's native German as well. The fifth volume, from 1975, contains the remainder of Von Karman's works, originally published between 1952 and 1963, all in English; this book was printed in a form identical to the first four volumes. The books are illustrated throughout with the equations, photos, etc. which accompanied the papers' original publication. Each book measures 6.25" X 10"; there are over 2,200 pages in all. ... Read more

Product Description
[8], 376 pages, 12 plates, cloth. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Theodore von Kármán (original Hungarian name: Sz?ll?skislaki Kármán Tódor) (May 11, 1881 ? May 7, 1963) was a Hungarian-American engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization.Von Kármán was born into a Jewish family at Budapest, Austria-Hungary as Kármán Tódor. One of his ancestors was Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel. He studied engineering at the city's Royal Joseph Technical University, known today as Budapest University of Technology and Economics. ... Read more