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Not Much of an Engineer

Author: Sir Stanley Hooker
Publisher: The Crowood Press Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

5 reviews
Sales Rank: 87575

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9

ISBN: 1853102857
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
UPC: 800165000736
EAN: 9781853102851
ASIN: 1853102857

Publication Date: June 1, 1991
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW and IN STOCK - dispatched within 48 hours from the UK

Also Available In:

•	Hardcover - Not Much of an Engineer

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

This blokes done the lot January 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

From Spitfire through Meteor, Mig 15 in Korea (yes they used his engine), Sabre F86, Folland Gnat, Fiat, Harrier, Bypass engine that lead to the WartHog, RB211 and TriStar, even the current on hold re-engine of the B52 with the RB211s sucessors. Is there anything flying today Hooker didnt design or have a hand in.

5 out of 5 stars

The remarkable story of a remarkable man April 6, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

If you have not yet heard of Sir Stanley Hooker, this will come as a treat. As a young (and brilliant) mathematician he joined Rolls Royce near the outbreak of WW2 - to find that the Merlin engine which powered the all-important Hurricane and Spitfire was down on power due to a supercharger design flaw that only he had spotted due to his mathematical abilities. In finding that extra power he will have earned the gratitude of a generation of pilots and by extension the gratitude of the nation whose existence depended on their ability to out-fly the invaders.
There is more... Throughout the war he continuously extended the development of the aircraft enigine superchargers that he had mastered, and became one of the first to appreciate and support Whittle in the development of the Jet Engine. Hooker was one of the key figures in the success of Rolls Royce jet engines, and went on to develop the Key ingredient in the Harrier Jump-jet, it's dedicated power plant.
And more, much more....
"Not much of an Engineer" has its dramatic personal twists, and Hooker is ruthless with what he saw as his own personal failings. In addition to his mathematical and engineering skills, he writes both fluently and with feeling.
Beg, borrow, or buy it, and read it. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars

An Inspirational Engineer February 22, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I think I have read this book five times, each time I find something new in it. Hooker shows, time and again, that very often, a simple approach to a seemingly intractable problem can produce extraordinary results. The book, which is "unputdownable", should be required reading for all undergraduate engineering students.

4 out of 5 stars

A very easy read on a difficult subject (Turbine engines) October 11, 2001
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

As a lover of Autobiographies I thought this book was very easy to read and also a bit of an aid to my personal studies. I have a lot of respect for this man who brought Rolls Royce out of a rut of self destruction.Anybody with an interest in aviation should enjoy this but it is an easy read. The equations in the back of the book are very easy to understand.
Enjoy...

5 out of 5 stars

Autobiography of Britain's leading 20th Century engineer. June 24, 1999
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Stanley Hooker was probably Britain's foremost engineer of the 20th Century. An outstanding mathematician, he doubled the power of the RR Merlin, designed the Pegasus in today's Harrier, and, with Sir Kenneth Keith, rescued Rolls-Royce from oblivion. This book is a highly readable account of his contribution to aviation. The son of a Sheerness docker, he writes with clarity, pace and humour. Technical topics are contained in a full appendix, the principal one being the formula he developed which enabled him to transform the Merlin and, hence, the Spitfire, by boosting the input of the one and then two superchargers.

Bill Bedford, the Harrier's original test pilot, publicly wondered if Hooker was actually Britain's greatest engineer ever. Read this book and decide for yourself.