Pocket Ref

Title: POCKET REF

Compiled by Thomas J. Cover
1997, Second Edition
Published by: Sequoia Publishing, Littleton, CO
ISBN: 1-885071-00-0
Small format – 5-¼ “ X 3 ¼”, 542 pages.

This small sized book is jam packed from cover to cover with just about any reference fact you might need. There is a good Table of Contents and a very comprehensive Index, which helps you find what you are looking for. There are 27 sections, laid out in alphabetical order starting with Air and Gases, Automotive, Carpentry and Construction, through Math, Steel and Metals and ending with Welding, Conversion Tables and a 12 Year Perpetual Calendar. Each Section has its own mini-table of contents.

Need to know the Birthstone for November – page 155, topaz. Need to know the airport code for Dulles International - page 183, IDA. Need to know the chemical name for a common solvent like Acetone – page 264, 2-Propanone or Dimethyl ketone. How about the area of a 10-inch circle – page 308, 78.5398 square inches (to 4 decimal points no less). What was the formula used to figure that out – page 317, area = pi X radius squared or 0.78539 X diameter squared. How about the weight of rolled steel – page 436 495 pounds per cubic foot. Here is one we needed recently: what is the weight of “Broken Bituminous Coal – page 429, 1404 pounds per cubic yard, but coke is only 702 pounds per cubic yard. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

If there is a negative to the book it would be the small print. The overall quality of the printing is very good, just that it is quite small to fit all the data into such a small space.

This book is so handy, I am thinking of getting a second copy, so that I can keep one in the house and the other out in the shop.

This book is available from a number of different sources. I think that I got my copy from Norm Larson Books, 5426 E. Hwy 246, Lompoc, CA 93436; 1-800-743-4766; e-mail: larbooks@impulse.net

Book review by Albin Drzewianowski

-- AlbinDrzewianowski - 18 Dec 2007