Reviews (1)

This is the best introductory guide I've ever used.
You can throw away those rock and mineral guides you've been collecting through the years; this well-written and well-thought out guide makes them pale and obsolete. I bought this for myself, then needed another one for a young niece who was captivated by its straightforward style and unbelievable photos. It is clean and organized and easy to use as a reference. It would also make a great text for self-education as it places rocks and minerals in context, including photos and descriptions of famous cliffs, sills, and other geologic formations around the world. ... Read more

Book Description

Rocks, minerals, and gemstones have fascinated people through the ages. They have been used as decoration, and have often been attributed special powers. This book, arranged in alphabetical format, describes 288 different rocks, minerals, and gems. Each entry includes beautiful color photographs, describes where the material is found, basic facts, how it is used, and some interesting information about its uses, myths, and legends. The separate pages are color-coded to indicate whether the substance is a rock, mineral, or gem. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Nice book for beginner rock hound
This book gives a description of numerous rock & gem types, along with characteristics, pictures, geography, etc. Good book for someone just starting out in the world of rocks. However, it is not helpful for someone with prior knowledge. It is a beginners level book and a really good one at that. ... Read more

Book Description

Homer called salt a divine substance.Plato described it as especially dear to the gods.Today we take it for granted; however, as Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates in this world-encompassing book, salt-the only rock we eat-has shaped civilization from the very beginning.Its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind.

Until about 100 years ago, when modern geology revealed how prevalent it is, salt was one of the most sought-after commodities, for without it humans and animals could not live.Salt has often been considered so valuable that it served as currency, and it is still exchanged as such in places today.Demand for salt established the earliest trade routes, across unknown oceans and the remotest of deserts: the city of Jericho was founded almost 10,000 years ago as a salt trading center.Because of its worth, salt has provoked and financed some wars; it was, as well, a strategic element in the American Revolution and the Civil War, among other conflicts.Salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia and have also inspired revolution (Gandhi's salt march in 1930 began the overthrow of British rule in India); indeed, salt has been central to the age-old debate about the rights of government to tax and control economies.

The story of salt encompasses fields as disparate as engineering, religion, and food, all of which Kurlansky richly explores.Few endeavors have inspired more ingenuity than salt making, from the natural gas furnaces of ancient China to the drilling techniques that led to the age of petroleum, and salt revenues have funded some of the greatest public works in history, including the Erie Canal and the Great Wall of China.Salt's ability to preserve and to sustain life has made it a metaphorical symbol in all religions.Just as significantly, salt has shaped the history of foods like cheese, sauerkraut, olives, and more, and Kurlansky conveys, in his saga and through 40 historic recipes-how they have in turn molded civilization and eating habits the world over.

Salt: A World History is veined with colorful characters, from Li Bing, the Chinese bureaucrat who built the world's first dam in 250 BC, to Pattillo Higgins and Anthony Lucas who, ignoring the advice of geologists, drilled an east Texas salt dome in 1901 and discovered an oil reserve so large it gave birth to the age of petroleum.From the sinking salt towns of Cheshire in England to the ancient salt work in southern San Francisco Bay; from the remotest islands in the Caribbean where roads are made of salt to rural Sichaun province where the last home-made soya sauce is produced, Mark Kurlansky has produced a kaleidoscope of history, a multi-layered masterpiece that blends economic, scientific, political, religious, and culinary records into a rich and memorable tale. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

Worth his Salt
Yes, Kurlansky is worth his salt as a writer, researcher and uncoverer of unknown facts about odd subjects. As he did with his previous non fiction books he has woven strands of information into an interesting tapestry, equal parts - enthralling history lesson and cultural voyage. The only problem is - at 450 pages and 26 chapters, with numerous visits to different cultures, countries, eras and rulers in an attempt to cover as many of the 14,000 uses that salt is known for - finishing SALT: A WORLD HISTORY leaves you in a brine of facts, but also very thirsty for a unifying theme or story and a more memorable read.

Certainly my knowledge of historical trivia is now seasoned with tidbits such as: the Anglo-Saxon word for saltworks being 'wich' means that places such as Norwich, Greenwich, etc, in England were once ancient salt mines; Ghandi's independence movement in India began with his defying the British salt laws, and the French levied taxes on salt until as recently as 1946.

A common theme in Kurlansky's books is that food is seen as a topic of historical interest. Here we learn about the role salt played in preserving cod, whale, ham, herring, caviar, pastrami, salami and sausage, and as it was with COD and THE BASQUE HISTORY OF THE WORLD this book is sprinkled throughout with recipes.

Salt is certainly an interesting subject; cultural history buffs will love this book and Kurlansky still has a humorous, easy, and very readable writing style; it's just that he probably could have salted away some of the facts without us missing much and he should have developed a flowing theme rather than one that was so saltatory.

Spice up your reading with a large helping of Salt!
On a macro level world history'that is, human history-concerns four basic forces which'separately or in combination'have shaped human behavior: the forces of nature, the force of a dominate personality, the force of ideas, and covetousness, for land, power, weathh'whatever.

The subtitle of this book is A World History. The title is deserved for the history of mans quest for salt is in many ways a wonderful mechanism of microcosm for the greater spectrum of world history.

This is by no means to only major 'commodity' history around'there have been other recent books about the potato, sugar, coffee, gold, jade, porcelain, various dyes (mauve, indigo), nutmeg and sundry other spices over the past several years.. At their worst, these commodity histories are complacent annals of consumption; at their best, they up-end our ideas of history's motive forces.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky ranks among the very best.

Salt isn't just a seasoning, it's a life substance, vital to the proper functioning of the human body. For as long as there have been humans, they've had to find or create salt to live. The history of salt is the history of humanity.

This is, in actuality, several books in one: a food history, a recipe book, a travelogue and a cultural history. It contains images which will long stay with you: the body of a Bavarian salt miner prized from collapsed salt caves centuries after his death, for instance, perfectly preserved right down to the bright colors of his clothes. It is also stylishly written and wonderfully learned, covering a vast geographical and historical span. William Blake famously suggested that the world was to be seen in a grain of sand; Kurlansky has seen it in a grain of salt.

Every piece of evidence in this book is arranged to point to salt as an agency of enormous power. It has determined the geography of warfare, urban growth (almost all Italian cities were built near a saltworks) and most of the world's trade routes. Kurlansky even links the 'whimsical, non-geometric' pattern of North America's secondary roads to salt: 'The roads are simply widened footpaths and trails... originally cut by animals looking for salt.' These are the salt-lines of history, invisible on a map but brought beautifully to light by Kurlansky.

The book is broadly chronological. We begin at a salt works in ancient China and end nearly 500 pages later amid the health wars over salt in the twenty-first century. Along the way, the reader is rewarded with superb thumbnail histories of the world's main civilizations; digressions into ketchup, chilli pepper, olives, embalming techniques, pickling and mustard gas; dozens of salty recipes; a beautiful little essay on Matisse, fauvism and anchovy fishermen.

This is a truly wonderful book. However, it shoulkd be noted that it is not as good as Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. Cod was an ecological novel. Infused with a sadness for the passing of the cod, that book was a heartfelt elegy for that wonderful creature. Salt is a mineral. The previous work was both an emotional and intellectual triumph. This is an intellectual triumph. This is a function of the subject matter rather than any deficiency on Kurlansky's part. However, there is a distinct difference in the reading experience between the two books readers of Cod ought to be cognizant of.

Moreover, Kurlansky's latest lacks this unifying attitude and occasionally lapses into a rather boring occasional recital of statistics and factoids.

But those are quibbles'this is a great book.

Spice up your life'take on this giant size helping of salt!

An off-beat look at history
Where would we be without salt? Certainly our french fries would be blander, but actually salt has had a critical role in our history as Kurlansky describes in this uneven but generally good book.

In a roundabout way, we are taken from ancient times to the present and throughout the world to see how salt has had an impact on our civilization. At one time so valuable that people were paid with it (from which we get the salt-based word salary), salt was essential for preserving food in an era before refrigeration. It was a cause of wars and a factor in victory and defeat.

The book's biggest flaw is that it is not well-organized. Although generally moving from past to present, Kurlansky skips back and forth in time and place in a somewhat aggravating manner. In a non-fiction work, the reader should have a better sense of direction. In addition, at times Kurlansky overstates the importance of salt: certainly, salt helped dictate where cities would be located, but it is not the dominant factor he makes it out to be; other items such as water and wood also played a role.

Overall, however, this is a decently written and informative book, an off-beat way to look at history. Even if it meanders a little too much, it does eventually get to its destination and you will be educated and entertained in the process.

*A Pinch of Salt, and a Heaping Tablespoon of World History*
Mark Kurlansky might qualify as popular as far as readers of history are concerned. He has written diverse historical works focusing on cod fish, the Basque people, and most recently the history of Rock and Roll. His work is more effective when he reports on the individual segments that make up history, than when he tries to tie together and interpret those threads of time. The history of salt is thus a perfect subject for Kurlansky's talents. Salt is found all over the world, is critical to all animal life, and has been the object of many separate struggles for survival.

You have to appreciate studying history to really enjoy this book. If you do, "Salt" is a wonderfully written modern historical narrative. Twenty-six separate chapters take you all over the world and throughout time, showing salt as a simple material necessary for survival, to a commodity controlled by the powerful, to the chemical that allows for better food storage and preservation, thus helping to feed more and more of civilization. Some chapters demonstrate how important different commodities are on culture. Until I read this book, I had no idea that the 20th Century Gandhi-inspired revolution in India was rooted in protest over British ownership of Indian salt rights. Each section averages fifteen pages bringing an interesting collection of salt related facts and reports.

Lots of salt history revolves around food. When you studied history as a youngster, you didn't think about how feeding civilization was the critical factor is what happened out in the world. If food could be preserved longer when abundant, if it tasted better when eaten, and had all the nutrients needed for survival, the quality of life improved and civilization would likely expand. When armies moved forth, they had to be fed too, so more food was needed as human expansion continued. Time and time again salt played a large role in what peoples went where, what they did, and why they stayed or moved on.

The book seems long, but reads quickly; it is easy to pick up and put down at frequent intervals. The chapters are short and each one weaves smaller story segments into the chapter's theme. There are opportunities to learn new facts, as well as different interpretations of familiar historical events to be absorbed. I most accurately rate this book at 4.20 stars out of 5.00, rounded down to 4 stars; it was an enjoyable and fun book.

Take it with a grain of salt?
I gave this book five stars because I found it absolutely fascinating. It didn't bother me that it went all over the world and back a few times. I felt that it did, actually, hang together, as in the various instances when Americans would invent something useful to the salt industry but, as it turns out, the Chinese had already invented it a couple thousand years before.

I live in a town that was the most important salt-producing area in the United States for many years. It could be said that the Civil War was won with Syracuse-Salina-Liverpool, New York salt. I also learned that the village of Liverpool was so named because boxes of high-quality salt were being shipped around the world from Liverpool, England... and the salt manufacturers here wanted to ship out boxes of salt labeled "Liverpool Salt"! I don't know whether or not it's comforting to realize that both branding and fraud were aspects in the naming of this village over 150 years ago.

I wonder, however, about possible inaccuracies, as pointed out by another reviewer. I have lived here much of my life, but have never heard this version of the naming of our town. The village website claims to not know the exact reason for the name. So, perhaps we need to take some parts of this book with a grain of salt. With that in mind, however, this book is entertaining and deliciously long for those whose attention span hasn't been artificially shortened by too much TV. ... Read more

Book Description

A concise treatment of the fundamental principles of sedimentology and stratigraphy, featuring the important physical, chemical, biological and stratigraphic characteristics of sedimentary rocks. Emphasized are the ways in which the study of sedimentary rocks is used to interpret depositional environments, changes in ancient sea level, and other intriguing aspects of Earth history.Topics include the origin and transport of sedimentary materials; physical properties of sedimentary rocks; composition, classification and diagenesis of sedimentary rocks and principles of stratigraphy and basin analysis.For individuals interested in one text providing comprehensive coverage of both sedimentology and stratigraphy. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Solid as a rock
Although Boggs dispenses with the multicoloured pictures and obligatory CD-Rom favoured by many modern textbooks, this is not to his detriment. It results in a more concise textbook with clear and simple sketches used effectively to illustrate the text. Perhaps the book may appear somewhat `boring' to certain students, but I prefer to think of it as a `solid' textbook that says what it needs to in a generally clear and understandable manner. For those undergraduates who are more interested in quality rather than flashy appearances, this textbook will prove invaluable in your study of geology.

The pain, the agony....
I was an undergraduate geology student that used this text book for a class. I can say without a doubt that although the book is full of information, it was bogged down in details and the writing was unclear at times. My class generally ignored the text book and the ta's recommended not reading it unless we wanted to be confused. They even suggested that it would be useless in helping us with our exams. The professor poked fun at the book as well. The writing style in this book made concepts unclear at best.

Deep and complete understanding about sedimentary processes
This concise and clear book give you a complete understand about deposicional processes, sedimentary models and stratigraphy. I thanks to Boggs the oportunity to read it because it was possible to see the deposicional processes, facies and sedimentary models from the fluid's dynamical perspective and not the old uniformitarian environments model's view. This book is easy to read for graduate and posgraduate students. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

If the old timers had these machines there wouldn't be any
The improvements in technology have corresponded inversely to the number of prospectors. Learn how to do it and you'll find yourself with the greatest treasure of them all: solitude. There's no better expert on metal detector technology than Garrett. Go for the gold!

Hope Springs Eternal
Our family has been in something of a cash crunch since the late 1970's, so the jaunty optimism in this book's title caught my eye the moment I spied it on a local shelf. It was written by the doyen of metal detection - Charles Garrett, creator of the eponymous Garrett Infinium LS detector, as well as the "ultra-advanced, deepseeking GTI 2500," among many others. His book is a sober introduction to the art of wealth accretion by way of magnetic broom. All is covered, from the first "bench test" before a detector's maiden search, to techniques for keeping the search coil level, to the famous "screw-driver probe" for pinpointing buried objects. Shortly after I bought this book my four-year-old son and I passed a pleasant afternoon on a Chatham beach seeking to re-enter the ranks of the upwardly mobile. By nightfall our plunder included an oversized wing nut (almost certainly from a pirate's ship, I assured my son), three discarded soda cans (good for fifteen cents, or twice that should we make the journey to Michigan, where one can gain double the local redemption rate through ruthless arbitrage), and three pennies that my son regularly planted in front of me to allay his boredom and my flagging spirits. All told I expect that we would have found more precious metals by combing the beach with a Geiger counter, and certainly would have had more success at spooking the locals (as it was, my cover story of being a minesweeper on secret business for Tom Ridge had few takers). ... Read more

Book Description

Practical, concise, and easy to use, Simon & Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals contains everything that the rock and mineral enthusiast needs to know. This field guide is divided into two large sections -- one devoted to minerals and one to rocks, each prefaced by a comprehensive introduction that discusses formation, chemistry, and more. All 377 entries, beautifully illustrated with color photographs and helpful visual symbols, provide descriptions and practical information about appearance, classification, rarity, crystal formation, mode of occurrence, gravity of mineral, rock chemistry, modal classification fields, formational environments, grain sizes of rocks, and much more.

Whether you are a serious collector or an information-seeking amateur, this incomparably beautiful, authoritative guide will prove an invaluable reference. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Excellent identification system.
S&S Guide to Rocks and Minerals is a very worthwhile purchase for experienced collectors. The usual Simon and Schuster system is here, but used in an excellent way. The descriptions are the best that could ever be in a Simon and Schuster guide. The gemstones and minerals pictured are beautiful and clearly photographed. There are hundreds upon hundreds of rocks and minerals listed, which makes it one of the best companions in the field. It isn't bulky, and the correct size to carry with you on a mountain trip or archaeological dig. The rarity and value is also given, including the luster, weight, and durability of a particular rock.
The two editions released on the market today do not differ noticeably, as in every edition of a Simon and Schuster guide. The "Fireside Book" press is less complete than the newly revised edition, but not in a large way. A serious collector should purchase any edition quickly along with the Audubon Society guide.

Excellent
This book was a must have for all geology students when I started out. Everyone in first year had this book and we used it regularly right up to fourth year. It came in very handy for mineralogy, especially since we had to know 200 of the rock forming minerals. The color pictures and information about each mineral and rock (including accidentals) and the geologic environment was very helpful. This book even came in handy when we were working on a gold exploration program coring through volcanic rock. It was helpful trying to match up the pictures with the rocks we were logging. Of course I don't recommend this practise but we all did enjoy the joke in camp.

This book has also been helpful when I used to work on large scale field mapping projects or drilling programs. I still have my original copy. I definately recommend this book above all others I have seen to any rock hound, hobbist or student.

An excellent and easy to use field-guide
A Rock and Mineral competition forced me to buy a field guide on the subject. By luck, I picked up the Simon and Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals, and couldn't have been happier with it. This book it helpful in identifying mineral specimens from around the word, and also provides easy-to-find and essential information about each one. The pictures are wonderful, and they portray the appearance of the most common and obscure varieties. With the long hours of studying and the help of this book, I took a state medal, and later a national medal, in the Rocks and Minerals field of the Science Olympiad competition. Best guide I've seen on the subject.

Not for beginners, but good for advanced hobbyist
The information and photos are great, but it's geared more towards someone who already has a good working knowledge of the subject, especially the introduction to minerals. I would recommend this as a solid field reference, but not so good as a field guide (there's not identification key). Beginners will quickly get lost in some of the technical aspects and jargon.

Good for basic information
Good book to use if you are starting out. Although I would liked to have seen some comparison pictures of certain rocks. Some rocks/minerals may be the same but look totally different in certain situations. Nice book though at decent price. ... Read more

Book Description

The few coesite-bearing outcrops have conventionally beenconsidered as anomalies but the number of orogenic belts that containdiamond, coesite or other indications of metamorphic pressures>2Gpa has increased to more than 15. This indicates that subduction of continental fragments to depths of100-150 km may have played a significant role in the formationof mountain belts. This volume brings together the geochemical, geophysical andgeodynamical approaches to study the processes active duringultrahigh-pressure (UHP) tectonics. The collection of papers demarkates the frontier of our understandingof the creation, preservation, and exhumation of ultrahigh-pressurerocks. Audience: This volume will be of interest to any earth scientistinterested in ultrahigh pressure processes and the formation andmodification of continental crust. ... Read more

Book Description

With this book of color photographs of the polished hearts of stones portrayed as natural paintings, BILL ATKINSON completes his transition from whiz kid of Silicon Valley to high priest of Silica.

After helping to usher in the age of personal computing by designing the graphical user interface of the Macintosh computer, Atkinson turned his visual and technical talents to nature photography. While shooting in the Painted Desert, Atkinson became intrigued with the brilliant colors in the petrified wood littering the ground. He brought home some polished rock slabs, photographed them in natural color and without magnification, and was enthralled. The photographs looked more like paintings of forgotten dreams than either rocks or photographs. Atkinson went on to borrow and photograph thousands of art-quality stones at gem shows.

From these thousands of stones, Atkinson has picked for WITHIN THE STONE those seventy-two that yielded the most striking, the most poetic, and the most ineffable images.Many of the photographs suggest the styles of particular masters of modern painting: Klee, Klimt, Turner, O’Keefe.

To accompany these images, the publisher commissioned seventy literary pieces for WITHIN THE STONE from seven top writers, each one accomplished in both scientific and artistic fields. Each writer was asked to free-associate with his or her ten assigned photographs as though they were Rorschach patterns on steroids. The seven contributors are DIANE ACKERMAN (poet and psychologist), PHILIP BALL (Nature editor and dramatist), JOHN HORGAN (science writer and philosopher), ANDREW REVKIN (New York Times reporter and screenplay writer), DORION SAGAN (science writer and novelist), TYLER VOLK (biologist and architect), and DAVID ZINDELL (science fiction novelist and mathematician).

In an appendix to WITHIN THE STONE, professional lapidaries SI and ANN FRAZIER and mineral scientist ROBERT HUTCHINSON provide a detailed description and commentary for each specimen. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Amazing and Powerful
Nowhere I have I seen diverse elements join so naturally as in this book. Science-Art-Beauty-and-Truth all merge through walls I did not know I had. Then I find myself deep inside the colors and nuances of polished crystal, which thanks to Mr. Atkinson's paradigm shattering digital photography, all of us can see, really see, for the first time.

Truly beautiful book
This book is easily the most striking collection of natural color photographs I've seen. By photographing the stone surfaces as flat, full frame objects, the images take on a vivid abstract sense that is just breathtaking. Atkinson's meticulous attention to every detail of preparing the book really shines - you'll have to get out a magnifying glass to believe you're not looking at original prints.

Personally, I would have paired the scientific text describing the minerals at the back of the book with the full frame photos and left out the other "writing". Random poetry and essays seem irrelevant next to such dazzling imagery. But this is really a minor point - you're buying this book for the pictures!

A Groundbreaking and breathtaking book
Within The Stone is a magical book - full of surprises, and delights - but not exactly a book one can sum up in a few words. Is this high art? An abstract, post-post-post-expressionist fanatasy? Or is this natural histroy at its best? A jouney deep behind the surface of the world we live in? Truth or ficiton? Poetry or prose? In fact, this book of intensely vivid color photographs is all that and more. Photographs don't usually, or easily, cross the line from docmentary description to ambiguously mysterious art. But these large photographs of exotic rocks and minerals from around the world do just that. They escape from their literal and mineral points of departure. They soar, and our imagination soars with them...

Bill Atkinson, the photographer-creator of Withn The Stone is responisble for more than just its stunning photography. In his previous life, Bill was instrumental in creating the original Macintosh computer, and the graphical user interface that the whole world now takes for granted. In recent years, Bill has focused his computer-science expertise on his other pasion, photography, sharing his discoveries with leading professional photographers across the country, and becoming, in a real sense, the "Ansel Adams" of digital photo printing. Having pushed the limits of photographic printing, Atkinson has now done the same thing for bookmaking. Four-color presses have never before been capable of reproducing colors as intense as those in these images. So Atkinson had to develop a whole new method of color printing for the Japanese firm that printed this exquisite book.

Thus, Within The Stone is not only a remarkable artistic achievement, it's a technical breakthrough as well, the new benchmark in color photo book making. But most importantly, it is a major aesthetic creation. These are fresh images, images that transcend their literal content, windows into a unexpected world. This is a book you will return to again and again, discovering something new each time you look Within The Stone. ... Read more

Book Description

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones provides both the connoisseur and the casual collector with a compact, easy-to-use volume describing more than 100 rare varieties of minerals whose beauty and mystery have possessed our imaginations from time immemorial. More than 450 brilliant photographs accompany profiles of each gem, covering such aspects as appearance, physical properties -- density, hardness, refraction -- occurrence, and how to judge quality and value. Additional sections describe the process of cutting gemstones and the techniques professional gemologists use to evaluate a stone's weight and optical properties.

Detailed and comprehensive, this book is essential for anyone interested in the study of gems and precious stones. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Interesting but lacking variety
Went to a gem show and saw that many folks had this book. Made a mistake and bought it here. I had a MUCH MUCH better book titled Gemstones by Cally Hall. The Simon and Schuster book has fascinating sections on how artificial gems are made and such like info (Doesn't include Moissanite.). However, it does not have any info on many many gemstones readily available today, such as Sphene, Sunstone (state gem of Oregon I'm told)and many others. (You can find these in the Simon and Schuster Rocks and Minerals book). If you are only interested in the mainstream gemstones, this book has them. However, as compared to the Cally Hall book, the info is not as well organized nor are the pictures (though mostly very nice) as useful. I will use this as a backup reference book.

Great photography, interesting lore about gemsand minerals
In addition to be a valuable guide for gem identification, this guide has wonderful color photographs, so useful for proper mineral and gem identification. Each gemstone is listed with density (vital for indentification), crystalline structure, light refraction angle (single or double), chemical makeup and hardness. There is an introductory section that is a good reference on mineral properties, a section on gem cutting, and small historical section.

My only objection to this book is that it is incomplete; there are a lot of semiprecious stones like gaspeite, for example that are not listed. So, not a complete reference, but a very good one that covers a wide range of information.

Excellent book
I've had this book ever since it was published and found it enormously valuable in identifying gems that I was unfamiliar with. Between this book and the accompanying "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Rocks & Minerals" one has a complete guide to nature's precious gifts of gems. My only critique is that the book needs an update to reflect some of the new semi-precious stones in the market place.

Great starter and refresher book
If you're working in the retail field, as I do selling jewellery, it's a straightforward, exciting, easy to understand guide with gorgeous photos. Also tells you how to spot a lower grade version of a gem. Some great museum photos of organic gems such as coral, ivory, etc. and semi-precious stone sculptures that make you appreciate the beauty of the gems. A standard for salespeople and a perfect reference for shopowners.

A standard for gemologists!
This is an excellent gem book. It has gorgeous color pictures on every page. Very informative and easy to understand! I give it a four instead of five only because it doesn't cover many of the rarer gems. However, I do recommend it to beginners and hobbyists! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An Unbeatable Reference Source for Gems and Minerals!
This oversized "coffee table" style book, contains some of the most impressive gem and mineral photography in print. The photos were taken by Erica and Harold Van Pelt who are the most revered gemological photographers in the world. In addition, the text is well organized and flawlessly researched. Gems and Crystals really captures the magic responsible for mankind's obsession with gem minerals. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a passion for gems. ... Read more

Book Description

Over 130 gemstones are depicted with description, occurrence,composition, crystal structure,luster, and other details. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A brilliant articles on diffrent sort of gemstones. A must f
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK CALLY HALL PERSONALY FOR SUCH A EXCELLENT WORK ON GEMSTONES. THE WORK CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN WORDS. I AM A JEWELLER AS WELL AS GEMOLOGIST, GOT QUIET IMPRESSED WITH SUCH PIECE OF ART.

the ultimate reference series
Where to begin? Photos, interesting facts, chemical compositions, broad range of stones!!!! The perfect reference for jewelers, libraries, hobbyists, homeschoolers- and to all you crystal/light workers, here is an awesome way to get a view of the crystals mentioned in the text-only guidebooks. See the Rocks & Minerals guide also.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS AND THIS BOOK HAS TERRIFIC PICTURES AND VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE DESCRIPTIONS. EVERYTHING THAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT IS ANSWERED IN THIS BOOK. THERE'S A VISUAL GUIDE TO OVER 130 GEMSTONE VARIETIES AND A COLOR KEY FOR EVERY GEMSTONE. THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING BITS OF INFORMATION HERE THAT THE READER GETS A COURSE IN HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, SCIENCE AND FOLKLORE. FOR INSTANCE, THE CUSTOM OF WEARING BIRTHSTONE JEWELRY STARTED IN 18TH CENTURY POLAND; THE MASK OF TUTANKHAMEN WAS MADE OF LAPIS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND THE BEAUTIFUL PINK MORGANITE WAS NAMED AFTER J.P. MORGAN. THIS IS A SUPER REFERENCE BOOK!

A super introduction to a fascinating subject.
I have been interested in amateur gemstones since 1962 and this is the best introductory book I've ever seen about the subject. It's full of outstanding pictures that illustrate just about everything most beginners might want to know. It starts with an excellent and concise section on general gem lore, gem properties, and gem handling. Then it has the best color key to gems that I've seen. This key makes it easy to find the information about a given gemstone without using the index. If one prefers, there is a good index too. After the Color Key, there are pages about specific stones with a description, where they are found and remarks. All standard gem properties are shown, with excellent pictures to illustrate the color, crystal shape, cleavage, uses, etc. All in all, this is the introduction to gemstones to judge others by. It's also useful for more advanced "rockhounds" as a reference and field guide. The binding is quite durable and should stand up to a lot of travel. I wish this book had been available 40 years ago.

Beautiful and useful---the next-best thing to owning gems
I have three of the Eyewitness Handbooks ("Cats," "Horses," "Gemstones") and they are a browser's delight. The "Gemstones" handbook claims to be a "visual guide to more than 130 gemstone varieties," and has over 800 true-color photographs of everything from achroite (tourmaline) to zoisite (Tanzanite), with all of the more familiar gemstones such as aquamarines and rubies in between.

This book reminds me of a gemology course I took while in college. The instructor used to pass around trays of gemstones so that we could observe and handle examples of what we were studying. (He always counted the stones when the tray came back to him, which was the only thing that kept me honest.) "Gemstones" set my mouth to watering just like those trays of yesteryear. The text accompanying the photographs is also rigorous enough to be used for an introductory course in gemology. It is organized to accompany the photographs, and there are also special sections on the physical properties of gemstones, where they are found, their history and folklore, and a very lovely color key to the gems.

The author, Cally Hall is a fellow of the Gemmological Association and Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain, and is a member of the curatorial team at the Natural History Museum in London. She specializes in the study of colored gemstones, so I think this book must have been a labor of love. Here is what she has to say about them:

"The mysterious appeal of gemstones, their exquisite colors and the play of light within them, would alone have made them precious to many, but their rarity, hardness, and durability have made them doubly valuable. The natural beauty, strength, and resilience of gems have inspired beliefs in their supernatural origins and magical powers, and stones that have survived the centuries have gathered a wealth of history and romance around them."

If you always make a special effort to see the gem collections when you visit the Smithsonian or the Victoria and Albert Museum or any of a number of Natural History Museums, I think you will enjoy Cally Hall's Eyewitness Handbook of "Gemstones." ... Read more

Book Description

Although known for its gold production, California is a virtual haven for rock and gem collectors. With this informative guide, you can explore the mineral-rich desert regions, comb tide-washed beaches for jade, agate, abalone, fossilized whale bone, and prospect in the mountains and hills for gold, copper, and other minerals and gems. It describes 75 of the state's best rockhounding sites and covers popular and commercial sites as well as numerous little-known areas. This handy guide also describes how to collect specimens, includes maps and directions to each site, and lists rockhound clubs around the state. Rockhounding California offers a complete introduction to this many-faceted hobby and is an outstanding guide and sourcebook. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

just what I was looking for!
got the book last night, found crystals the next day. I am going for jasper tommorrow. great book!

lost with a map
A friend of mine recently got me interested in rockhounding and we went and purchased this book... Anyway, we went to a random site and the maps, although detailed with mileage, don't show distance to site from areas in california. Example, distance from Barstow to Ludlow? YOU have to go there to see the mileagle sign. Secondly, there needs to be better markers on where to turn for these dirt roads. A few sites were passed due to not being where they "should be". I really would hate to take some unmarked road for 10 miles only find it leads nowhere and then have a problem getting back. The lore and history of the sites was nice along with hints of how to dig or uncover rocks but the maps do leave a bit to be desired. Finally, and most annoyingly, all of the photos were black and white and of low quality. How can one tell what green jasper looks like with a black photo? Blooodstone? Rose quartz? This one portion of the book really was what made me not want to purchase my own copy. Maybe future editions will have better maps and at least a few color photos of the rocks,etc. Thanks for your time, Dean

Rock Solid
This book really is solid. It's got some of the best information on everything you'll need to be right in the middle of all that this great big state of California has to offer. I have traveled to 14 sites so far, and almost all of them have been productive and well worth the trip. What I like most is the extra types of information given; like the best season to look for gems and minerals at a particular site, and the specific tools you'll need. Especially appreciated are the alternate maps that are recommended, like the USGS and the BLM, which match up right to the book. Way to go and thank you very much! ... Read more

Book Description

The collection of natural mineral crystals housed at the Houston Museum of Natural Science is the finest and best known in the world. Now the treasures of this singular collection are shown in resplendent photographs that will seduce both the connoisseur of beauty and the student of natural history.

The spectacular and rare specimens on display here, from a huge imperial topaz crystal weighing more than 2,000 carats to a crystallized gold cluster that is one of the most highly coveted objects in the mineral kingdom, are true masterpieces, the Rembrandts and Picassos of the natural world. Like fine art, minerals are prized for their aesthetic qualities-color, luster, sculptural composition-and for their provenance. Avidly pursued by naturalists throughout the centuries, precious metals and gem crystals have a fascinating history. Stories regarding the pursuit and discovery of these precious natural objects, including tales of good luck and hardship, are related in these pages. Essays that explore connoisseurship in the mineral kingdom and chronicle the history of this noble pursuit add to the appeal of this unique volume. AUTHOR BIO: Wendell E. Wilson is editor and publisher of The Mineralogical Record. Joel A. Bartsch is curator of gems and minerals at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. ... Read more

Book Description

In the American Southwest, turquoise is a highly prized gemstone with great cultural significance. Author Joe Dan Lowry is recognized worldwide as a leading expert on the subject, and Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide is the definitive resource for rock hounds and serious collectors alike. Lowry describes the fascinating history of turquoise mining in the American Southwest and reveals the astonishing variety of colors and forms that make this a gemstone like no other. Among Native American peoples of the Southwest, turquoise is especially prized, with blue stones symbolizing "Father Sky" and greener ones evoking "Mother Earth." This lavishly illustrated volume also features some of the finest examples of antique and contemporary Southwest Indian turquoise jewelry. 70 color photographs and illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

As William A. Kappele reminds us in the introduction toRockhounding Utah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Accordingly,he gives us "just the facts" that rockhounds need to know to find theirway to the best collecting sites in the Beehive State and what mineralsamples, rocks, and formations are to be found there.Still, mostreaders will find between the lines that Kappele can't quite squelchhis enthusiasm for the grandeur of Utah's exposed formations, itscanyon walls etched with fossils, and the spires and arches of theNeedles District in Canyonlands National Park. Kappele, who hastraveled the western United States for 30 years in search of rocks,gems, and other lapidary pleasures, brings his experience to bear onUtah's 54.4 million acres, providing detailed descriptions of 86 sites. Each description includes concise information on the material to befound there, the tools to bring, the best season to visit, the vehicleto drive, or when a remote find suggests it's time to lace up thehiking boots.Readers can glean new insights into the obsidian of theBlack Rock sites, jasper at Hell's Backbone, petrified wood at BullfrogTurnoff, and fossils of sea lilies along the Wasatch Range. May yourjourneys be fruitful and your bag be heavy on the way home.Somewherein that bag among your rocks, we hope you haven't forgotten your copyof Rockhounding Utah. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Rockhounding Utah
I found the book to be very useful in finding sites to look for rocks and fossils during a recent trip to Utah. The directions to the sites were clear, and advice on conditions helpful. All of the sites I visited (10-12)were as described and productive, particularly when viewed as jumping off points to explore. The only thing I would ask for are more sites and a wider variety of things to look for. Two weeks more of vacation would be nice, as well. While I'm asking, gas money and a mailer to avoid carrying 25 lbs. of rocks home on the plane...

2003 Summer review
I found this book very useful in exploring the different sites in Utah. I have only been to a few sites but was not disappointed in the results. One should read the Forward/Intro section. It has good tips on the Utah and it's climate that literally could be a life saver.
The author has put a real effort in listing the different sites and given good directions. I like the site format including the elevation and the best time to collect. I used it to visit Utah in early March and petrified wood from sand creek. I have given the book a four star rating due to it's age. It was published in 1996 so it's seven years old at this writing. the Utah sites still seem to be intact compared to the sites in New Mexico and Colorado. As I have suggested in my other reviews I would like to see GPS Coordinates for Main turn offs and the initial starting points at a collecting site. The forest service/BLM has a habit of closing roads. and there are Vandals that deface signs right when you need them the most. I also use the GPS Data for mapping software at home before the trip. preplanning at home beats driving 10 miles of washboard and dust on the wrong road.

Helpful guide to Rockhounding sites in Utah
I found this book to be very helpful in finding rock-collecting sites in Utah. It has directions to the collecting sites, information about near by attractions, tools needed, elevations, driving conditions and best time of year to go. I use the book religiously when I'm out and about. I give it a 4 star rating, and could have been a 5 star rating had the pictures of the rock specimen been in color, instead of black and white =) ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (10)

Densely enjoyable
Thorson's discussion of frost heave is so wonderful I no longer resent picking those damn rocks out of the garden.Well, I still don't like those damn cobbles and pebbles but at least now it makes sense.I lived on sand in Schenectady, NY for awhile and I almost forgot how easy mending that lawn was, you could dig without a shovel, but New England called me home and alas this is a land of rocks, but walking through the woods here in Massachusetts with its stranded rock walls, whose existence in trackless woods makes one wonder who built them, so long ago that the trees surrounding them are well over 100 feet high, humbles one, such a long history, so many generations gone, you can feel the hard labor that must have gone into hauling these tons of rock, these walls that run up and down hillsides through woods that haven't seen farming in over 150 years.

I loved the soil talk, the geology, the history lesson, this is real history, the story of the people, explaining the reasons for the individual decisions of the many; the big history moves are the result of the many many little historical imperatives.

If you live in New England or any other glaciated terrain, you should read this book, you will find your surroundings, your own neighborhood woods, a source of new fascination.

Fascinating and comprehensive
This is a wonderful book.It blends science, history and art to create an interesting perspective on the stone walls of New England.Thorson discusses the geological aspects of stone, the various types of stone walls and how they were built as well as the process of frost heaving and the disintegration of old walls.I hope this book causes people who have looked at stone walls and have seen only rocks to take a new, deeper look at them.They, and "Stone by Stone" are quite poetic.

Solidly Magnificent
"The stone walls of New England stand guard against a future
that seems to be coming too quickly. They urge us to slow down
and to recall the past."

This is only one of the many observations that Professor Thorson
concludes his marvelous book with.I must admit that his final,
summarizing chapter actually brought a tear to my eye - hardly
to be expected from a book on geology and regional history
mixed with, amongst other topics, some anthropology.

In other words this book has enough of everything to satisfy
every curiosity you might have about those tumbled down rows
of stones found in just about every New England forest and
suburb.A surprising wealth of information on numerous topics.
Fascinating scientific and cultural and historical background -
far more than one would ever expect to encounter considering
the topic.And Professor Thorson's writing style is commendably
clear and readable, with a poet's affection for his topic.

Quite simply one of the best nonfiction books I think I have ever
read (and I read quite a lot), for its perfect fusion of research, understanding and sentiment.

Almost an answer to my prayers during so many long, wandering and wondering forest walks.
I encourage you to read this book.

More Geology Than Walls
When I picked up this book I thought: "How can an entire book be written about stones walls?"As it turns out the author did not write an entire book about stone walls.

The author gives us the hisory of stone walls starting with the formation of the earth, through formation of rocks, the ice age and finally American history.There is actually more about geology that stone walls themselves, although the author tried mightily to write a few hundred pages about them.

The geology and history is well-written and interesting.I learned quite about when walls were generally built and how the stones came to be that comprised them.However, the last third or so of the book - that part devoted to the walls themselves was often redundant.It seemed the author was searching for words to fill the pages and stretching - like the last pages of a term paper you know should be eight pages but you have to make the assigned ten pages.

A chapter on builders and technique would have been more useful than the stretched parts.

There are pearls of interesting history and I am not sorry I read the book.I just wished it had been shorter by an excision of the redundancies and "stretches".

Neat Trash
Thorson presents his case for the annual crop of stones on New England farms from an historical perspective and from his expertise in geophysics and geology.The writing style is clear but repeats information from one chapter to another.The basic premises are implied but not precisely stated and enlarged upon -1. Early settlers and farmers wanted land for growing food; stones "heaved" up every year on the land were looked upon as trash.The more land cleared of trees and brush, the more land available for growing food BUT the clearing added impetus to stones being heaved up.Settlers piled stones on boundaries of their fields, often leaving space between two lines of stones where brush and other trash was tossed.2. The marks on these stones are not glyphs or any form of record, they are merely stress marks.

Thorson's book is fun to read on two levels - first as a scholarly "comeback" meant to take the wind out of the sails of high-flown rhetoric on the ethnic and socio-economic origins and meanings of stone fences.Second, the bits of history and geological information are just enough to allow the reader to understand without being overwhelmed ala James Michener. ... Read more

Book Description

Part of the Fred Ward Gem Book Series. This lavishly illustrated book in the all-color series includes History and Lore, Natural Pearls, Cultured Saltwater Pearls, Cultured Freshwater Pearls, Mother-of-Pearl and Shell Products, Imitation Pearls, and Buying & Caring for Pearls. This book provides the ideal introduction to one of the world's oldest and most famous gems. Follow author Fred Ward around the world in search for the most important examples of these beautiful and historic gems. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

nice book
great pictures and interesting information. I enjoyed this book. It packs a lot of interesting information in a small, easy to read, book.

Simple, Concise Guide to Pearls
This book with 62 pages explains everything you need to know about Pearls. In addition to the knowledge of pearl for a consumer, this book also goes into great details in the trade of pearls. It covers the geographic sources of pearls, the competitive producers, and logical prediction of future market.
I enjoyed it a great deal.

Spectacular Photography
I don't know what impressed me more, the spectacular photography or the effortless and fascinating way Fred Ward helped me understand pearls. He takes the mystery out of buying pearls. I will not buy pearls again without reviewing this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Full-color photos. Learn about the formation and practical uses of crystals,

semiprecious stones, and precious metals. "The dazzling full-color photographs

on uncluttered pages make this a visual treat."--School Library Journal.




... Read more

Reviews (2)

A VISUAL FEAST!
The photographs of OVER 200 CRYSTALS AND GEMS is worth the purchase price of this book. And I am not just talking about ANY picture of each crystal, I am talking about a GORGEOUS, AMAZING sample picture of each crystal! Some of my favorite photographs/stones included are: Opals (My personal favorite stone ok, tied with Diamond!), Aragonite, Agate, Tourmaline, Calcite, Topaz, Barite, Hematite, Amethyst, Rose Quartz, The Blue Hope Diamond, Ruskin's Ruby, Moonstone, Spodumene, Blende, Natural Mosaic, Malachite, Gold, Mother-of-Pearl, Turquoise....I could go on forever!

Here are the chapters: WHAT IS A CRYSTAL? A WORLD OF CRYSTALS, NATURAL BEAUTY, CRYSTALS-OUTSIDE, ...AND INSIDE, THE COLOR OF CRYSTALS, IDENTIFICATION, NATURAL GROWTH, GOOD HABITS, DISCOVERY-RECOVERY, GROWING FROM SEED, CRYSTALS AT WORK, GOOD VIBRATIONS, QUARTZ, DIAMOND, CORUNDUM, BERYL, OPAL, OTHER GEMSTONES, COLLECTORS' ITEMS, STONES FOR CARVING, PRECIOUS METALS, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE, WHAT IS IT WORTH?, MAKING THEM SPARKLE, LORE AND LEGENDS, CRYSTALS AT HOME AND INDEX.

This is a must-own if you have any interest in the marvelous beauty of crystals and gems. Not only are the photographs great but the information is succinct and fascinating! I highly recommend this book along with any other of the 109 in the Eyewitness series! Talk about something for everyone! Thanks Dr. Symes and Dr. Harding! Wow!

This book is isn't bad, It's meduim (Average).
This book had a lot of Crystals and Gems that come in all shapes, sizes and colors. ... Read more