ABOUT ME
This web site is primarily about my writing interests including the books that I have published and future writing projects.
MY WORK
My first book on Land Surveying was entitled "Fundamentals of Boundary Surveying - How Boundaries Are Established". It was published in 2002. The primary purpose of the book was to provide a non-mathematical description of land surveying. The profession of boundary surveying is often 10% technical and 90% legal. The intended market for the book included not only land surveyors but just about anyone who wanted to know more about how property boundaries were established. The book is now out of print but used copies are sometimes available for purchase online.
I wrote "Practical Boundary Surveying" in 2014. It is an updated version the prior book "Fundamentals of Land Surveying". The new book was published by Springer International Publishing beginning in 2015. This book is a larger and more comprehensive version of the previous work. The book has an appendix containing mathematics used by surveyors. Although Springer sells the book as a text book for land surveying students at the college level the book would also be very useful for professionals outside of the surveying profession such as engineers, attorneys, planners, architects and other real estate professionals. Click on the image to view sample chapters at the Springer web site.
A recent book on land surveying is entitled "Land Surveying Simplified". In some ways it is a return to my original compact, concise and easy to understand book written primarily for people who are not surveyors. My goal was to create a book that was both inexpensive and easy to read. It is available on Lulu in both hard copy and as an eBook. Although the book has only been available since the summer of 2016 it has done very well. As an eBook it sells for only $9.99. A second enlarged and updated edition was published on KIndle in 2021. Click on the book image below to learn more about the book.
In 1985 I became interested in the history of a local mill that used water power to grind corn into Jonny Cake Meal. For readers who have not grown up in New England, Jonny Cakes are like pancakes but they are made from corn meal not wheat flour. Gray's Mill has been in operation since at least 1751 and it still grinds Jonny Cake meal from flint corn. The short book contains a description of the mill and what is known about its history. The book includes scale drawings of the mill and the machinery. Clicking on the image will take you to the book.
I have always been interested in fiction and have particularly enjoyed humorous fiction. I had some time on my hands while spending a winter in northern Florida a few years ago so I decided to write a short story. The book, entitled Sidney, is the first in a series of humorous adventures which take place on the New England coast during the energy crisis of the late 1970s. The book is available as an eBook from Lulu. It can be downloaded free. I am hoping to add more chapters soon.
My most recent book is a titled Land Surveying Mathematics Simplified. It was written as a companion book to Land Surveying Simplified. The book is intended to introduce readers to the basic mathematical concepts and equations commonly used by boundary surveyors. It covers angles and bearings, basic trigonometry, coordinate geometry, traverse adjustment, area calculations, and road layout calculations. There are many examples included in the book. The presentation is straightforward. The book assumes that the reader has no background in the topics covered but it assumes a background in basic algebra (mostly knowing how to rearrange simple equations). The book is available online in softcover or as an eBook. The book is inexpensively priced the same as Land Surveying Simplified. A new updated second edition was publised with Kindle in 2021. Click on the image below to learn more about the book.
A few years ago I developed a course on Wind Power Technology for Bristol Community College in Fall River, MA. The course was funded with a grant from the National Science Foundation. I had some difficultly in finding a text book at the level I was looking for. There were several excellent text books available but they tended to be a bit too technical for the level of course that I needed to develop. I wanted something that contained the necessary equations but not something that was too rigorous for a college level single semester introductory course. In the end I decided to write most of the materials myself. This book on wind turbine aerodynamics draws materials from my course. It is technologically a mid level book which anyone with a modest background in mathematics should be able to understand. It is the first book in a series on wind turbine design. I am presently working on the second book in the series which will cover electricity and electrical power generation.
I published "Boundary Surveying in the Metes and Bounds States" in 2021 through Kindle as a paperback only. This book provides an overview of boundary surveying in the metes and bounds states of the U.S. The focus is on legal issues facing land surveyors when performing boundary surveys. The book is the result of a college level course on the legal aspects of boundary surveying taught by the author. The focus is Massachusetts and Rhode Island but the materials presented are applicable to other states in the U.S. that do not use the Public Land Survey System. This includes most of the states east of the Mississippi River, Texas and Hawaii.Topics include legal concepts affecting real property, the judicial system, statutes and case law, evidence, deeds, plans and recording systems, monuments, calculations, reconciling record and physical evidence, water boundaries, drawing plans, adverse possession, easements, contracts and professional practice. The book assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of the technical aspects of boundary surveying but the materials are presented in an easy to understand manner using plain language. The book starts with a brief review of some of the technical aspects of boundary surveying so even readers with a minimum amount of surveying experience should be able to take advantage of the materials in the book. The book contains 380 pages.
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I would love to hear from about surveying, writing or any comments or ideas that you may have about this website. Please use the form below to get in touch with me and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.
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