John Davidson graduated as a Mechchanical Engineer, and then spent three years studying in the United States, first at the University of Kansas and then at Massachusettes Institute of Technology, where he was awarded a Masters Degree in Industrial Management. He was commissioned in REME on his return to the UK and spent two years in Germany. Otto von Bertele graduated as an Electrical Engineer before joining ICI Agricultural Division as an Instrument Engineer. He had various appointments on the plant and in design, including the leadership of the vibration section, before specializing on large compressors, their drivers, and their lubrication systems.

• Acknowledgements. Preface.Notation.Chapter 1. Pump specification and selection.Chapter 2. Positive displacement pumps: reciprocating metering.Chapter 3. Positive displacement pumps: reciprocating special purpose.Chapter 4. Positive displacement pumps: rotary.Chapter 5. Centrifugal pumps.Chapter 6. Centrifugal pumps: special purpose and multistage.Chapter 7. Common points.Chapter 8. Sealing considerations.Addendum. Pump and system combined.Appendices.Appendix I. Symbols and preferred units.Appendix II. Reliability classification.Appendix III. Rheology definitions.Appendix IV. Data sheets.Index.