Fundamentals of Hydro- and Aeromechanics (Dover Books on Aeronautical Engineering)

If you're looking at this book, you probably already have an interest in physics and engineering. If you don't, ask your guidance counselor how to switch majors. I kid, I kid.This is a great book for someone new to the study of fluid dynamics, but who has an understanding of general physics and calculus. I haven't taken math since high school, so I was a little rusty on dealing with some of the equations, but anyone who has a comfortable working knowledge of derivatives and integrals should not find the math to be too great an obstacle. The book is good about connecting equations to principles, starting immediately in with statics at a level simple enough that the reader can follow without previous knowledge of this subject, yet not so simple that it spends half the book as a "history of" or basic physics primer. If you understand the concepts of force, mass, velocity and acceleration, and some basic geometry, you should be able to follow it with no problem. The book uses mathematical constructs to explain relationships, but not in the way some authors have of making the whole thing seem much more complicated than it is.I'm using this as a self-teaching aid, because it's interesting to me and I'm kind of weird like that. Most of my physics knowledge is also self-taught, and I haven't had any classes in engineering, so if you already have several years of education in this area, I imagine you would find it slow-paced. For everyone else, it's a good resource.

has the good ideas explained

The title is misleading, as there is very little useful info on aeromechanics. If you are into balloons using coal gas or hydrogen, buy this book. As a university-level reference work, the section on vortices is useful. For homebuilding aerodynamics, the book is of little use.