January Book Reviews

The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson

This book was published a few years ago, but since it focused on the rise of shipping contains in the 3 or 4 decades following World War 2, it was still interesting and timely.  I read most of the book while traveling to and from Istanbul, Turkey, so I was able to see shipping containers and the specialized docks that were built to service these massive ships.  I really enjoyed this book and I learned a lot.  Fascinating book that is highly recommended.  Grade: B+

Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing by Vaclav Smil

I picked up this book after reading how much Bill Gates enjoys books by Vaclav Smil in Wired Magazine.  The first 2/3's of the book was interesting because it focused on the historical rise and decline of manufacturing in the US.  The last third of the book was less interesting because it discussed why the decline was such a serious problem.  I found this section of the book unpersuasive and a little dry.  Overall, a good but not great book.  Grade: B-

A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life by James Bowen

This book was a smash hit in England back in 2011.  It is the story of James Bowen who finds a cat and this cat motivates him and helps him to improve his life.  The book is enjoyable and inspiring.  I think that it would have been so easy for the authors (James Bowen and Garry Jenkins) to add a bunch of drama to the story by exaggerating some of the events that are described. Instead, there was only limited drama and this made the book seem more authentic to me.  Very enjoyable and now I know what busking is. Grade: B

Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman

I read this book for the second time and it was still interesting and funny.  Richard Feynman was interested in so many different things (art, language, music, physics, etc.) -- he was amazing.  As a scientist, he always seemed to focus on doing a few great things instead of many small things.  I think that every researcher and scientist should read this book because we all (especially me) could benefit from being more focused on quality and integrity over quantity.  Grade: A-

Late Fall Book Reviews

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jarrod Diamond
I loved the previous two book by Jarrod Diamond that I read -- "Guns, Germs, and Steel" and, especially, "Collapse."  The book was not as good as either of those classics, but I still enjoyed it.  It looked at changes that happen in societies when the transition from Traditional to Modern.  Specially, the book explores the treatment of children and elderly, warfare, justice, multilingualism, diet, etc.  The book is pretty long, and, personally, I thought the first half was pretty slow (and could have been condensed), but the second half was much more interesting to me.  A very good book, but not a classic.  Grade: B

The App Generation by Gardner Howard and Katie Davis
This book examines differences between the current "App Generation" (i.e., my kids) and other recent generations.  It was interesting at times, but I thought most of the observations were relatively obvious and I was frustrated by the reliance on observational and interview data rather than broader, quantitative data. Grade: C-

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King
A very interested biographical look at an series of important events in both the life of Thurgood Marshall and also US race relations in general.  I learned a lot from this book.  It was disturbing, moving, and provocative. Highly recommended.  Grade: A-.

Final Review Solutions

4.69) y_CO = 4100 ppm
6.27) m_H2O = 0.26 kg/h and V_feed = 13,500 L/hr

Midterm #3 Review solutions

1. dew pt = 72.7 C, superheat = 17.3 C, condensed water = 0.325 mol H2O/mol feed 
2. exit stream: y_benz = 0.166, y_tol = 0.064, y_N2 = 0.77, 1.3 mol total/min 
3. mol in = 0.021 mol/breath, mols out = 0.0223 mol/breath, H2O lost = -0.0013 mols/breath

215 Midterm #2 review solutions

2. f_HBr = 75%, %_excess = 20%

3. n_C2H4,in = 46.1 moles, n_H2O,in = 47.4 moles

4. ratio = 0.86 m^3 diluting air / m^3 fuel gas

Fall Book Reviews

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell Gladwell is the master of the anecdote. Anytime he want to argue a perspective, he always has a pithy story that supports that argument. As a result, he writes books that are incredibly interesting to read. Sometimes I wish he would construct stronger arguments from broad, population level statistics, but I'll take what I can get. Grade: B+

The Fall of the Faculty by Benjamin Ginsberg A book about changes in the administration of colleges and universities in the U.S. Interesting. A little overly angry, but interesting. Grade: B+

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson et al Boring, uninteresting, and not compelling. The book did contain some valuable insights, but, overall, I wouldn't recommend it. Grade: D

ECHM 215 Exam #1 Review --- Solutions

(#2) Dilution: 3595 mol/s is minimum molar flow of dilution air

(#3) Unit Conversions: (a) 0.525M, (b) 144 sec., 23.6 lb_m H_2SO_4, (c) 88s

(#4) X_methanol = 0.276 in bottom stream