Book review: Understanding and Using Structural Concepts (2nd ed.)

This month's letters consider the Eurocodes – both their current application and future; presentation skills when addressing a lay audience; responsibilities of structural engineers and steel detailers; and the value of creativity in a structural engineer's education.

Ian May finds this to be a useful book for undergraduate students in certain respects – its key points, conceptual questions and clear layout in particular – but feels it is let down by a lack of rigour.

This is an excellent general technical introduction to the issues facing the shipping and offshore industries, concludes Paul Frieze, but not detailed enough for more serious insights into the multifarious technological challenges that really exist.