If you want an understanding and awareness of the origins and progress of concrete technology, you will find it in this book. There are eight papers written by pioneer experimenters and constructors. These are accompanied by a history of the development of cement and concrete technology from ancient times into the twentieth century. You will learn of experiments a century ago with concrete reinforced by twisted iron bars. You will read of the design and construction of a reinforced concrete house that still stands a century after its erection. You will learn of early attempts to provide valid test results and dependable design data and procedures relating to reinforced concrete beams and flat slabs and the bonding of concrete to steel. You will read a history of innovations in the design and erectionof concrete buildings, along with a review of successful and unsuccessful examples of reinforced concrete construction.
The reprint of Abrams' 1918 paper on water-cement ratio is one of the classics in American concrete literature. This book will be interesting and entertaining to anyone who is interested in concrete. But it can be more than that. You may discover that you achieve a better grasp of modern technology when you review the research and innovations of early experimenters. Thus the book offers practical value as well as historical interest.
