Book excerpt: Geometry of Construction has long been acknowledged as the most concise and instructive guide to the technical geometry of the construction industry, and a vital resource for students in architecture, carpentry, stonemasonry and engineering. Beginning with the very basics of technical drawing, it provides a series of increasingly complex exercises to clearly explain all that the reader needs to know about geometry. Each topic is covered with a detailed diagram and carefully written instructions, enabling the student to progress from basics such as the circle and construction of scales, to some of the most complex challenges including the entasis of a column, an ionic volute, the hemispherical dome and the setting out of barrel vaulting. The authors, T. B. Nichols and N. P. Keep, both worked extensively in the construction industry before moving into teaching, so they were ideally suited to produce this highly practical guide. First published in 1947, a revised edition, incorporating numerous suggestions from students and lecturers on Raking Sections, the Projection of Points, of Lines, and of Planes, the True Lengths of Lines, the Oblique Plane and on Roof Surfaces, was produced in 1954. Last published in 1966, it has been unobtainable since then. It remains one of the most useful books for any student in the construction industry.