An Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering

By Robert D. Holtz, William D. Kovacs

Price: $125.60

Product Description
A descriptive, elementary introduction to geotechnical engineering - with applications to civil engineering practice. *focuses on the engineering classification, behavior, and properties of soils necessary for the design and construction of foundations and earth structures. *introduces vibratory and dynamic compaction, the method of fragments, the Schmertmann procedure for determining field compressibility, secondary compression, liquefaction, and an extensive use of the stress path method.

Product Details
*Amazon Sales Rank: #315992 in Books
*Published on: 1981-03-08
*Original language: English
*Number of items: 1
*Binding: Paperback
*733 pages

Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher

A descriptive, elementary introduction to geotechnical engineering -- with applications to civil engineering practice.

Customer Reviews
Wrong description

My only complaint about this book is that it is listed as [Hardcover] even though it is not. No more new hardcover editions are being printed, so really all the brand-new copies are softcover. I bought this twice from Amazon and twice I received a paperback book even though the receipt says [Hardcover.] That was two or more weeks ago. Then, I just got a book through half.com and it came through Amazon, so I got to see that the error still hadn't been corrected. You could laugh at the fact I got the same book three times, but it would be best if Amazon could fix the product description to say Softcover. When it is corrected, they could take down my negative comment because the book itself is amazing as a text reference. Thank you.
One of the best in print - for study and practice

I've had the experience of using this text as:

(1) An undergraduate student,

(2) A graduate student,

(3) A university instructor, and

(4) A practicing geotechnical engineer. There are other books that are better suited to one of the above (I preferred Coduto's two texts when teaching undergraduate Soil Mechanics or Foundation Design) but this 25+ year-old text is still the best (in print) for all 4 of the above. Even after using it regularly for more than 10 years, I still find bits of information that I hadn't previously. It is a bit more dense than some of the newer texts geared strictly towards undergraduate courses (such as McCarthy, Das) and lacks the pretty pictures of some. But it makes up for that in substance. If used correctly (e.g., don't even attempt Chapter 11 when teaching undergrad soils) it makes a fine teaching tool for both undergraduate AND graduate courses. It also contains enough substance to be useful for the practicing engineer. This, and graduate-course-usefulness, is where other texts currently available fall very short. I have several of Das' books, and McCarthy, as well as many others, on my shelf. They mainly collect dust, while I consult H&K regularly. I understand there's a Second Edition in the near future, which should contain some updated information, including critical state soil mechanics, seismic and liquefied soil mechanics, etc.
Still the best book available for theoretical soil mechanics

I was first introduced to this book as a grad student in the early 80s and I still use it to teach my graduate soil mechanics course today. It is as comprehensive as any soil mechanics text out there. Their treatment of shear strength is magnificent and worth the price of the book alone. There is a tremendous amount of information crammed into this book, but it remains very readable throughout. Some of the other reviews miss the essential point that Holtz and Kovacs is a pure theoretical soil mechanics text, not an applied soils text. You won't get much use out of it on the PE exam, but I guarantee it will help you to better understand soil behavior.

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