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BAU UND BETRIEB VON PRALL-LUFTSCHIFFEN. Von Richard Basenach. II Teil. Allgemeine Darstellung des Entwurfs und Konstruktion. Munich und Berlin: Verlag von R. Oldenburg, 1912. This second volume of Basenach's book on nonrigid airships discusses the subjects of lifting capacity and the determination of the important points of the gasbag, such as the centers of buoyancy, of displacement, and of gravity. The author has thoroughly considered the stresses which are set up in the fabric of the envelope and of the influence of internal gas pressure and of the load to be lifted, Taken together, the two volumes by Basenach may be regarded as a very clear and excellent text-book on an important phase of aeronautics. MECHANISCHE GRUNDLAGEN DES FLUGZEUGBAUES. Von A. Baumann. Teil I und II. Munich und Berlin: Verlag von R. Oldenburg, 1912. The two volumes by Baumann on the mechanical foundations of flying machine construction are remarkably good, partly because they give an immense amount of practical information with the aid of very simple mathematics, and partly because they include a discussion of the practical application of the more recent aerodynamic researches. The author promises us a third volume. in which the stability of flying machines will be taken up. MODERN ORGANIZATION. An Exposition of the Unit System. By Charles De Lano Hine. New York: The Engineering Magazine Company, 1912. 12mo.; 110 pp. Price, $2. Emerson with his efficiency staff, and Taylor with his functional management, have each developed systems of internal economy that have been applied widely and with most marked and satisfactory results. Major Hine here gives us a third mode of bringing line and staff into harmonious relationship, a mode in which each department head becomes at the same time special staff counsel and active line officer, thus extending his sense of responsibility to the efficiency of the whole organization, while retaining it for his own department. This result is brought about by the subtle influences surrounding the introduction of a new viewpoint, and minimizes the disturbances and the positive antagonisms which decided physical changes almost always produce. No cumbersome machinery is brought into use. The unit system is in successful operation on the Harriman lines. It is well worth the consideration of all organizers and managers, and its plan for the correction of over-centralization and over-specialization seems as applicable to manufacturing and industrial organization as to that of transportation. THE DESIGN OF STEEL MILL BUILDINGS. And the Calculation of Stresses in Framed Structures. By Milo S. Ket-chum, C.E. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1912. 8vo.; 562 pp.; 270 illustrations. Price, $4 net. This third and enlarged edition of Prof. Ket-chum's Steel Mill Buildings is noticeable for the care and the expert knowledge that characterizes all his books. In it he deals with dead, snow, wind and miscellaneous loads, with stresses in framed structures, roof trusses, portals, arches and beams; design is presented under the captions-- Framework, Corrugated Steel, Roof Coverings, Side Walls and Masonry Walls, Foundations, Floors, Windows and Skylights, VenWators, Doors, Shop Drawings and Rules, Paints and Painting, Estimate of Weight and Cost. There is a section devoted to miscellaneous structures, and appendices dealing with specifications, with problems in graphic statics, and with structural drawings, estimates and designs. COST REPORTS FOR' EXECUTIVES. By Benj. A. Franklin. New York: The Engineering Magazine Company, 1913. 8vo.; 149 pp. Price, $5. In cost accounting, as in all pursuits involving a mass of figures and a daily routine, what is intended merely as means to an end not infrequently becomes the end itself. When the significance of the imparted facts becomes lost in the labor of their collocation and presentation, cost accounting defeats its own purpose. Mr, Franklin opens the blinded eye, and very clearly shows executives of manufacturing plants what they ought to expect of their cost system, and how to increase and to retain its vitality and usefulness. MOTION PICTURE WORK. A General Treatise on Picture Taking, Picture Making, Photo-Plays and Theater Management and Operation. By David S. Hulfish. Chicago: American School of Correspondence, 1913. 8vo.; 297 pp.; illustrated. The time is ripe for the appearance of such a work as this, which exhaustively presents the details of a new industry employing thousands of people and offering recreation and education to millions more. Whether the reader is interested in the manufacturing or the exhibition end of the business, he will flnd here full information upon any point he may be desirous of learning. The construction, installment and operation of the lantern is most fully dealt with, and gives descriptions of the various machines and methods with a wealth of illustration. The actual picture-taking is described in another large section of the volume, and specifically presents the necessary conditions for producing images of the scenes or objects, for recording this image in permanent form, and for multiplying or reproducing the image into as many finished photographs as may be desired.
