Book Review : “The Atomic Energy Deskbook” by John F Hogerton

[delosharriman]

Review posted on the book-selling site Alibris, where I gave the book a score of 4/5. (I make no recommendation of any book marketplace over any other — this one gives me Amtrak points, so I tend to shop there.)

This book is so useful it’s regrettable. What do I mean by that? The descriptive material contained in this book is broadly applicable today. And that shows how static the field of nuclear energy has remained since the early 1960s.

Power plant designs, fuel cycles, applications of radioisotopes in industry and medicine, economics — it’s all here, collected under alphabetical headings in encyclopedia-style entries. Those with special knowledge will notice the points where it is out-of-date, but in general it retains a great deal of value. The articles are clear, concise, and to the point, and the volume itself is convenient in a way that tracking down references across the Internet never will be. We can only hope for enough progress in atomic energy, in coming years, to bring forth a new volume of this kind.