Rock Blasting

André, George G.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 272K words
Chapters: 28

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Rock Blasting by George G. AndréAuthor: André, George G.,Language: English, Class: TN: Technology: Mining engineering, Metallurgy, Release Date: Jul 5, 2017

Editor's review

This is an early English-language work in mining engineering literature devoted to the subject of rock blasting, available as a free eBook from Project Gutenberg. Its value lies not in casual reading but in historical documentation and professional reference: readers can use it to understand early twentieth-century approaches to rock blasting, its terminology, and its engineering context, and to observe how technical writing was expressed at the time. As a public-domain eBook, it is easy to search, cite, and use for comparative research, making it suitable as supplementary material for the history of mining, the history of engineering, or technical English reading. There is no need to read it from cover to cover; a more effective approach is to consult chapters with specific questions in mind and to use notes and background materials to understand the terminology. For general readers, the book is densely technical and its pacing is specialized, requiring some patience. Overall, it is a compact specialized document rather than popular science writing for a broad audience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students in mining engineering or blasting-related fields, for understanding early technical literature
Researchers in engineering history and mining history, as a public-domain historical source
Readers seeking technical English reading material to practice comprehension of specialized texts
Collectors of public-domain eBooks interested in Project Gutenberg

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping for accessible popular science or an introductory guide
Readers without basic English reading ability who need a Chinese translation
Engineers expecting systematic modern blasting theory and operating standards

Reading tips

Begin by browsing the table of contents and terminology, marking chapters relevant to your research before reading closely.
Keep a mining or engineering English dictionary on hand and build a glossary as you read.
Read alongside mining historical sources from the same period, noting differences in technical context.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no background who want to learn blasting techniques?

Not really. It is an early English-language technical document with dense terminology and no modern safety standards or systematic instructional structure. Readers with no background are likely to struggle with the specialized language; it is better suited to people with mining or engineering backgrounds who use it as historical material or technical English reading.

What should readers keep in mind when reading this public-domain eBook?

Public-domain eBooks are easy to obtain and cite for free, but publication information, formatting, and notes may be minimal. Readers should pay attention to the publication context and the original date, check terminology against context and reference works, and should not treat the technical practices described as a basis for modern operations.

Should it be read cover to cover or selectively?

Selective reading is preferable. The book is focused but highly technical, and general readers gain limited benefit from reading it straight through. Start with the table of contents, choose chapters on specific rock-blasting operations or historical questions of interest, and then read adjacent material as needed.

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About the author

André, George G. Author

George G. André is an author about whom limited public information is available; details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the two works held in the collection, his writing focuses on practical technology and engineering. The Draughtsman's Handbook of Plan and Map Drawing addresses drafting practice, explaining methods for drawing plans and maps, and is characteristic of a technical manual; Rock Blasting deals with engineering blasting techniques, showing his attention to construction and engineering operations. Both works are practical in subject and oriented toward actual practice, with language that is likely concise and precise, serving technicians for study and reference. Although little is known about his personal life, these two works show his ability to systematize technical knowledge into manuals, and his writing style is marked by practicality and operability, offering reference value in the relevant technical fields.