Excerpt from Text-Book of Mechanics: For Colleges and Technical Schools

The science of mechanics, as all other departments of physical science, has made great advances in recent years, in this book I have endeavored to unfold the principles of modern mechanics systematically, and also to call the attention of the student to the more useful applications of the subject. It has long seemed to me that the more practical parts might with advantage be presented to the beginner at least as fully as the more abstract, and that, too, without any sacrifice of scientific precision. The book is so arranged that the student, whether intending to make a specialty of engineering, physics, or astronomy, can branch out in his special direction without difficulty.

It has been the aim to make the examples as practical as possible. Thus while writing the Strong locomotive (No. 444) was brought out by the L. V. R. R. Co., and the Westinghouse air-brake tests (1887) were being made. Many problems founded on these and other mechanisms have been introduced.

It has been the aim also to make the examples typical. Instead of making them mere numerical illustrations of formulas, the idea has been to encourage independent thought. In many cases different methods of solution have been indicated to encourage the student to trust rather to an independent investigation than to an answer so called.

Considerable attention has been paid to the graphical method of solution, guarding, however, against making it a "complicated weapon with which one can attack all sorts of problems which are more easily solved in other ways."

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