I purchased the guide to help me study for the PE. This book is divided into several chapters, each covering a different area of mechanical engineering. The chapters were written by various contributing authors. Although some of the chapters were helpful in my studies, overall I was very disappointed with the book. There are numerous errors in the formulas and example problems which can lead to a lot of time wasted on figuring out why your answer does not agree with theirs. For example, a good deal of the text from a chapter on kinematics and dynamics of machinery came from Norton's book Design of Machinery. However, the PE review author did not copy some of the equations correctly. Fortunately, I had both books so I could find the discrepancy with a minimum of wasted time.

Another disappointment was the chapter on control systems. Most of the chapters had several example problems so that you could see how to solve them. However, the control systems had only three problems, two of which were on how to find transfer functions. The information in the chapter was difficult to follow and instead I relied on my undergraduate books.

Also disappointing was that the answers to the problems from each chapter were in a separate book. The author claims that this was done so that you could bring the review book into the exam with you. However, to the best of my knowledge, in every state you are allowed to bring any material that you wish with you to the exam.

A better option for a review book would be Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual for the Pe Exam : For the Pe Exam by Michael R. Lindeburg. This title is available from Amazon.com.

No mater which book you choose, in the end you need to study pretty hard to pass this exam. Good luck with your studies.