Review of Robot Builder’s Sourcebook
Here’s a review of Robot Builder’s Sourcebook, by Gordon McComb.
A few months back Gordon McComb, the author of Robot Builder’s Bonanza, the extremely popular robotics book, contact me about his latest work, the Robot Builder’s Sourcebook. In this e-mail he said, "[it] lists 2,500+ robotics resource[s] … " Needless to say that really got my attention and I immediately jumped at the chance to take a look at it. My apologies to Gordon for taking so long to do this review, because this book is simply awesome! To give you some idea of the size of this resource, it’s 8×11x1.5 inches and weights about 4 pounds, and contains 681 pages of robotics resources and a 28-page index. This is a mammoth work. It is most definitely a labor of love. The book’s index describes it as "a compendium for the amateur robotics enthusiast: what it is, where to get it, and how to get started."
Robot Builder’s Sourcebook is divided into 30+ major resources categories, with some of the larger categories like ‘Retail’, ‘Materials’, and ‘Internet’ having up to 20 subcategories. Each of the books categories begins with a description and then follows with all the resources in alphabetical order. Each listing has the name and pertinent contact information (physical address, web address, phone numbers, etc.) of the company or resource listed. A series of icons gives helpful at-a-glance information about the resource such as if it’s a "personal pick" of McComb, if it has free information, or if it has a brick-and-mortar location. In this book you’ll find everything from ‘Armatures & Doll Parts’ and ‘PCB-Design’ to ‘Hobby and Kit Robots’. Most categories are also cross-linked to other categories by a "See Also:" list. The book is also spiced up with a lot of pictures and screen-shots from websites, along with 200+ mini-articles on a vast array of topics relating to robotics. You’ll also find numerous sidebars highlighting specific companies or sites (and keep in mind these are not paid advertisements) and little blurbs on "movers and shakers" in the robotics world.
A quick flip through the book yielded the following articles: 4 Ways to Control a DC Motor from a Computer, Commonly Used Power Transmission Components, Understanding Thread Sizes, Tips for Effective Sumo Robot Wrestling, Scavenging Parts, and Electronic Pet Fences - For Robots. As you can see, it’s quite a vast array of topics - and there’s lots more where those came from.
Gordon’s writing is style is easy to understand yet succint. The fact that his other book, Robot Builder’s Bonanza, is said to be one of the hottest selling robot books of all time, should defray any doubts as to his qualifications for writing this book. At about $25 US retail (19 pounds UK) this book seems like a steal to me. Perhaps one of the only bad points is that it’s so darn big … and heavy. It’s also paperback, so heavy use might put significant wear and tear on it.
Bottom line? Buy this book. It’s great. If anything it will save you time searching the ‘net for those forgotten links.
A few months back Gordon McComb, the author of Robot Builder’s Bonanza, the extremely popular robotics book, contact me about his latest work, the Robot Builder’s Sourcebook. In this e-mail he said, "[it] lists 2,500+ robotics resource[s] … " Needless to say that really got my attention and I immediately jumped at the chance to take a look at it. My apologies to Gordon for taking so long to do this review, because this book is simply awesome! To give you some idea of the size of this resource, it’s 8×11x1.5 inches and weights about 4 pounds, and contains 681 pages of robotics resources and a 28-page index. This is a mammoth work. It is most definitely a labor of love. The book’s index describes it as "a compendium for the amateur robotics enthusiast: what it is, where to get it, and how to get started."
Robot Builder’s Sourcebook is divided into 30+ major resources categories, with some of the larger categories like ‘Retail’, ‘Materials’, and ‘Internet’ having up to 20 subcategories. Each of the books categories begins with a description and then follows with all the resources in alphabetical order. Each listing has the name and pertinent contact information (physical address, web address, phone numbers, etc.) of the company or resource listed. A series of icons gives helpful at-a-glance information about the resource such as if it’s a "personal pick" of McComb, if it has free information, or if it has a brick-and-mortar location. In this book you’ll find everything from ‘Armatures & Doll Parts’ and ‘PCB-Design’ to ‘Hobby and Kit Robots’. Most categories are also cross-linked to other categories by a "See Also:" list. The book is also spiced up with a lot of pictures and screen-shots from websites, along with 200+ mini-articles on a vast array of topics relating to robotics. You’ll also find numerous sidebars highlighting specific companies or sites (and keep in mind these are not paid advertisements) and little blurbs on "movers and shakers" in the robotics world.
A quick flip through the book yielded the following articles: 4 Ways to Control a DC Motor from a Computer, Commonly Used Power Transmission Components, Understanding Thread Sizes, Tips for Effective Sumo Robot Wrestling, Scavenging Parts, and Electronic Pet Fences - For Robots. As you can see, it’s quite a vast array of topics - and there’s lots more where those came from.
Gordon’s writing is style is easy to understand yet succint. The fact that his other book, Robot Builder’s Bonanza, is said to be one of the hottest selling robot books of all time, should defray any doubts as to his qualifications for writing this book. At about $25 US retail (19 pounds UK) this book seems like a steal to me. Perhaps one of the only bad points is that it’s so darn big … and heavy. It’s also paperback, so heavy use might put significant wear and tear on it.
Bottom line? Buy this book. It’s great. If anything it will save you time searching the ‘net for those forgotten links.
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