The best Transportation books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Read Longitude by Dava Sobel for an excellent history of the development of an accurate clock that could be used at sea. It's truly fascinating both from the engineering perspective as well as the personalities involved. And it clarifies that, prior to this development, navigation at sea (at least in terms of longitude position) could best be characterized as a wild ass guess.

Edit: somehow wrote LATitude when I meant LONGitude! Duh!

Thanks. I am almost done reading The Killing Zone, Second Edition: How & Why Pilots Die. I am not going to end up in the third edition.

When I had my first beetle I was a big fan of How to Keep you VW Alive - Step by step for the complete idiot. Mostly because I was an idiot mechanically back then.

Yep. Way more than you ever wanted to know about why free parking is bad here: https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking-Updated/dp/193236496X

Brief overview of book here: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/business/economy/15view.html

https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101

I second this. They are straight forward and would be great to learn on.

That said - you do know on todays highways they are death traps. The drum brakes don't stop for $%^&, it handles like a tractor, has tiny skinny tires with no grip, and the only crumple zone is your skull. Really, if a texting soccer mom in a Tahoe T bones you its probably over

I'd highly recommend the High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup (RIP) on this subject. Great, pioneering book about how we fail to deal with the huge externalities of personal automobiles.

This had been on my list of books to read for a while:

https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking-Updated/dp/193236496X

"Shoup proposes new ways for cities to regulate parking – namely, charge fair market prices for curb parking, use the resulting revenue to pay for services in the neighborhoods that generate it, and remove zoning requirements for off-street parking."

Lots of Vancouverites need to understand the true cost of the government giving away so much land without user fees. I suggest reading the seminal tome The High Cost of Free Parking

>free parking has contributed to auto dependence, rapid urban sprawl, extravagant energy use, and a host of other problems. Planners mandate free parking to alleviate congestion but end up distorting transportation choices, debasing urban design, damaging the economy, and degrading the environment. Ubiquitous free parking helps explain why our cities sprawl on a scale fit more for cars than for people, and why American motor vehicles now consume one-eighth of the world's total oil production. But it doesn't have to be this way. Shoup proposes new ways for cities to regulate parking – namely, charge fair market prices for curb parking, use the resulting revenue to pay for services in the neighborhoods that generate it, and remove zoning requirements for off-street parking. Such measures, according to the Yale-trained economist and UCLA planning professor, will make parking easier and driving less necessary. Join the swelling ranks of Shoupistas by picking up this book today. You'll never look at a parking spot the same way again.

I highly recommend Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche. Written back before WW2 it has served many pilots of many eras. He writes in a way that makes co.plex aerodynamic ideas easily relatable to the "common man". My copy is well worn from many read throughs.

Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070362408/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_lZXEBbBQ3YW93

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

This book goes into incredible detail on how to approach learning a new track specifically. I've done a lot of reading on websites, forums and essays on race-craft and race driving. This book is still the biggest contributor to my skills in iRacing.

https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101

Following the guide in the book, buy some tools and a box to keep them in that will fit in the rear window well. Then do the basic tuneup. Learn how to set your valves, and why the number 3 cylinder's valves should always be set looser than the other cylinders. Figure out how to advance and retard the distributor. Figure out the proper method for changing your generator belt.

Then you'll want to learn how to do all of that by feel with your eyes closed, so that, some dark night, you'll be able to do it all on the side of the road. Bugs are not unreliable, but they pick the damnedest times to do janky stuff.

Most parking lots are sized for the 4th busiest day of the year. Which means 360 days of the year it's just a massive expanse of asphalt doing nothing except making people who didn't drive there walk farther.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking-Updated/dp/193236496X

In the case of these pilots, I think he was fair. If you haven't read his father's "Stick and Rudder" you might understand where he's coming from.

https://www.amazon.com/Audel-Millwrights-Mechanics-Guide-Thomas/dp/0764541714

This is a good book. The uglys electrical is good. For YouTube “ave” or “this old tony.” He’s more of a machinist though. For ave look at his older stuff. He takes apart valves and stuff. Lots of good welding videos out there. “The engineering mindset” is a great Chanel for electrical work.

On that same note, Lansing's The Endurance (about Shackleton's attempted voyage to the South Pole and absolutely miraculous escape from what would have or should have been certain death) is equally amazing for the real-life adventure readers.

Basics like when/how to add which fluids, changing a tire, at what point to see a mechanic are things my kids learned before they were allowed to drive. When I was their age I toasted my VW and had to learn about engines to rebuild it because I had no money. "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot saved me an incredible amount of money and was the original "Idiot" book.

Practice going the slowest you possibly can and keeping your balance while feathering the clutch and brake, making counter turns and proper uturns. I'm talking waiting for a short red light and never putting your feet down slow.

I urge you to get the book i linked below, basically it goes over everything you are experiencing and why.

proficient motorcycling the art to riding well

IPT's Rotating Equipment training manual

Audels Millwrights and Mechanics manual

These will give you all the info for the mechanical aspects. Might want to check out /r/millwrights as well. I'm not sure what the testing is like, however the guys over there were sharing books that were specific to actual pre-apprenticeship tests. Math is not listed as a topic, however I'd definitely spend time brushing up on that.

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I saw the job posting a couple weeks ago, do you know how many apprentices they are taking?

This is the cover of The Soviet Bus Stops book. The only purchace I've ever made on amazon and it was definetly worth it. Appearantly bus stops was one of the few opportunities architechts got to really express themselfs and it made for some really interesting designs. Highly recommend it.

... a supply of seal blubber and sugar cubes can get you through till tuesday.

I recommend a copy of Endurance as reading while waiting for your snow to melt.

Yo, thanks for suggesting a book. Rarely see people talk about Motorocycle book on this sub. I also wanna shout out Proficient Motorcycling. Kinda dog shit, but I got it for $1 at a Goodwill and it has some really cool picture and statistic breakdowns.

I always recommend this book to new pilots, The Killing Zone, Second Edition: How & Why Pilots Die (Amazon Link).

It really dives into this from a data driven perspective from aircraft mishaps. It shows that pilots from 50-350 hours are at the highest risk of mishap, attributed to some of the things noted in this thread.

"A special chapter in this book will point out that the elevator is ac­tually the airplane's Angle of Attack control, and that its up-and­ down control is the throttle. The airplane in a normal glide is going down neither "because" the pilot is holding the stick back, nor "al­though" he is holding the stick back. It is going down because the throttle is closed! The position of the stick, the upward deflection of the flippers merely fixes the Angle of Attack and the air speed at which the airplane flies as it descends. Because the stick is held back-and the flippers are deflected upward-the airplane flies rather slowly and at rather large Angle of Attack." -Wolfgang Langewiesch, Stick And Rudder, 1944.

I've never seen an explanation of flight control manipulation dictate that one control should be ignored, while relying solely on another. The above paragraph (and chapter) has been the generally accepted proper method of manipulating flight controls in a coordinated manner. Which resource is directing pilots to do otherwise?

Audels is more of an all around reference book for on the job stuff. 1200 pages of everything you can think of for millwrights. amazon link

But it is available on Zlibrary along with many other Audel trade books.

So many...

One of my favorite reads of all time, though, is "The Endurance" by Alfred Lansiing.

A non-fictional account of an amazing heroic story of survival, exploration and leadership in the Antarctic in the golden age of exploration of the poles. What they did, when they did it, with the technology they had at the time - it's truly unbelievable. A must read:

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage: Alfred Lansing, Nathaniel Philbrick: 2015465062881: Amazon.com: Books

In the same genre, Aspley Cherry Gerard's "The Worst Journey in the World" is a long but incredible story of Antarctic exploration written by a survivor academician that was actually there.

The Worst Journey in the World - Wikipedia

Exploration and adventure non-fiction is a powerful genre for me, easily more impactful than even the best fiction (and I'm a big fan of that too!) because reality gives it that more powerful punch.

The extreme conditions of the arctic and Antarctic race to the poles are pretty amazing tales of human perseverance and bravery when you consider the conditions, the challenge, and the capabilities of human technology at the time these almost foolhardy men accomplished it.

Have you read Stick and Rudder? I'm about 2/3 through it and can't recommend it enough. It has an extensive explanation of AoA and why it's so important in the first few chapters. Highly recommend reading this book.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0070362408/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_gBZcGb86B82B5

Stick and Rudder

I’ve had it on my shelf for a year while waiting for COVID to settle down so I can start my lessons. Started reading it this weekend and now can’t put it down. I’m maybe 1/3 through it and just constantly impressed with how it clears up so many questions I’ve had about what’s actually happening when you fly. I definitely think I’ll reread it the month I start my lessons up again.

https://smile.amazon.com/Stick-Rudder-Explanation-Art-Flying/dp/0070362408

Jbugs, CB Performance, and SoCal Imports are where I personally get all my parts. Jbugs has a few items of questionable quality, but for the most part everything has been good. They're also usually a bit cheaper than other places.

Also if you're going to do the majority of work on it, I'd look into getting a service manual. There's the Bentley manual, but apparently there isn't one that covers 1960. There are actual shop service manuals, and those might work. I have this book and I like it. It's got a lot of info about pretty much anything you'll need to work on, and it covers every year Bug.

On another note, keep spare parts in the car in case of a breakdown. I used to have a spare belt, spark plugs, light bulbs, carb rebuild kit, and a tool kit with sockets, wrenches, etc. I ditched the carb kit when I upgraded to dual carbs a while back. A spare throttle cable and clutch cable would probably be good as well. I haven't had it happen, but they do break occasionally and it sucks to be stranded with something that simple.

"The Killing Zone" is a good book for student pilots in General Aviation. The tagline of the book is "how and why pilots die." Here is an amazon link. https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Zone-Second-How-Pilots/dp/0071798404

It's $20, and if you use Amazon Smile donations, please consider Candler Field Museum. Our founder, Ron Alexander, recently died in a Jenny crash here in town and the museum can use all the help we can get.

Buy John Muirs idiot manual it’s a great read and the art is hilarious also pick up a Bentley service manual for your year, don’t bother with the Hayes one. If you can turn the pulley by hand great! Drain all the old gas if it’s been sitting for more then a month and change the fuel filter if the is one. Drop the oil and clean the screen if some of the studs pull out don’t fret, while you are under there clean any leaves or grass out of the nooks and crannies put the pan back on and fill with the correct amount of new oil. Take the air filter off and see how many spiders are living in there. Lift up the back seat and prop it up good because if you turn it over and the starter won’t stop with the key you wanna be able to pull the battery cable off. get a compression tester pull all the wires and plugs and label them to each cyl with tape. check all the cylinders compression they should all be within 10% of one another if it’s ok ie 100+psi. You can check for spark at this point too by putting on plug in the wire and laying on the tin where you can see it and getting someone to crank over the engine a few times don’t put the plugs back in until all are checked for comp and spark. If everything is still good. Put new plugs back in her. change the cap and rotor and clean up the points with some emery cloth if they are corroded , change new wires one wire at a time to the cap and then do the wires one at a time so you don’t mix them up. change the fuel filter if it has one and inspect any rubber fuel lines and change any that are questionable, don’t forget the one under the tank in the front(I would change them all anyways) Clean any leaves and stuff from the engine bay don’t forget in behind the fan shroud.. put gas in it and check for leaks EVERYWHERE If it starts great! If it doesn’t start you need 3 things for a gas engine to run. fuel, compression and spark. Good luck!