Excellent for a fundamental understanding of how various machines or tools have a mechanical advantage. It was a pleasant discovery for me as I was initially interested in learning general machine fundamentals and I overlooked the NAVAL Education in the subtitle. I'm  a new mechanical engineer for the NAVY and I work on various systems on the ships. With applications that I see a lot being used as examples I really gain an understanding of my work. I don't view a system the same anymore. I look at it as a combination of the two basic machines. I definitely recommend this to any new engineer. It clears up confussion that a new engineer might be too embarrassed to ask clarification for.