Rick Ellis is one of the leading authorities on Civil Engineering software in the United States. He is the author of Digging in AutoCAD Civil 3D which later was published as A Practical Guide to AutoCAD Civil 3D, A Practical Guide to AutoCAD Map 3D and others. He lectures and teaches seminars across the country. I have attended his seminars. The textbooks Rick Ellis has written have been an exceptional addition to my classroom. They are written with thought and imagination. They are direct and to the point. They are easy for the students to follow yet challenging enough to keep the students interested and using their skills and learning to think through exercises. I would suggest all Civil Engineering professors review his books. Once read and reviewed I would venture to say, they will be using them in the classroom.