The seventh edition has been revised to provide up-to-date design guidance, principles in line with the current British Standards and Eurocodes.  The original simplicity of the mathematical treatment has been maintained, while more emphasis on the relevance of structural mechanics to the process of structural design, analysis, materials, loads on building and structures according to the current British Standard and European Code of Practice.

The initial chapters of the book deal with the concept of loads and their effects on structural materials and elements in terms of stress and strain. The significance of the shape of the cross-section of structural elements is then considered before the book finishes with the design of simple structural elements such as beams, columns, rafters, portal frames, dome frames and gravity retaining walls.