Book Description

This book examines the history of opals dating back to ancient times. It describes where opals are located throughout the world and how they are mined and details the techniques for cutting, polishing, and working with this difficult gemstone. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The World of Opals
A fascinating, well concieved and presented tome on opals. It is both a good read and a good reference. However, I find it extremely vexing when the text directs me to a photo of a colorful opal only to discover that photos accompanying the text are in black and white. How asinine on the part of the publisher to effect such economies on a book that cost over $90.00. The photos might just have well been of anthracite coal lumps.

Both the author and the reading public would have been much better served if the publisher had eliminated entirely these black and white photos which proved such a source of frustration.

I'm aware there is a 16 page signature of color. It would not have cost much more to have made this a 32 page sig amalgamating the text pictures. If this book goes into subsequent printings I hope what I perceive as a glaring error is corrected.

Again, let me stress that I enjoyed the book immensely, but what could have been an A+ tome is a B-.

An extensive history of opal mining with special finds noted
For the last 10 years, opals have mystified me with their uniqueness. I wanted to know more!!. Boy did I get an eye full. This book is full of history(before the time of Christ), science(but not overwhelming), locations(general), and special finds that have been made since recorded history. If I found a person looking for more information about the opal, I would surely recommend this book. I was hoping that it would have contained more information concerning the lapidary side of the industry. Even though I was disappointed in this area, I was extremely pleased in the information that the book shared.

The definitive guide to opals!
This is an Amazing Book! If you like opals, gemstones, or jewelry, you will love all the information provided in this extremely thorough, and well written book. The book takes you through the way opals are really formed. (Satisfying the scientist in us all). Then it takes you into the history of all the amazing opal finds around the world and where to find your own opals. (satisfying anyone who wants to know how the opal trade works). It also wonderfully describes the worlds most magnificent opals ever found. Including one of the largest solid opals ever found, The Bonanza found by Keith Hodson. (capturing the jewelry lovers).
If you want to know anything about opals, you've got to get this book! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great new book from Discovery Channel experts
This field guide cum encyclopedia is informative and visually compelling. It is the preferct companion for a family or individual interested in learning more about the earth via rocks and minerals. The reference sections in the back are particularly useful. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Geology students
This book can be very informative if you know what you're looking for in it. I would reccomend it to students who are geology majors if it is not already required. ... Read more

Book Description

Sedimentary rocks are widely distributed at the Earth's surface and their accurate description is essential for interpretations of depositional environments and palaeo-geography. Designed to be used in the field, this book describes both techniques and approaches and discusses particular aspects including composition, texture, sedimentary structures and fossils. Explanations are aided by the inclusion of detailed illustrations. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent book
Excellent! Practical and didactic, with great illustrations. Indispensable for students, and teachers. ... Read more

Book Description

Full-color photos. The beauty and importance of minerals, metals, crystals, fossils, and gemstones are shown in page after page of vivid photos. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Gift Experience
I bought this book as a gift for a bright young lady who was fascinated with the appearance of the stones themselves, but although I liked the content of the book, I was wholly unable to persuade the recipient even to peruse the text as light reading.

It was enticing enough for me, but I claim the blame for missing the target. Experiences may vary -- if they're readers, they're readers -- if they're not, that's another subject.

Very Educational
This book shows tons of different kinds of rocks. Very great if your child likes rocks or if you want to read up on the subject.

very descriptive geology
Beutiful pictures with detailed captions. It shows igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. It tells which rocks we use in our everyday life. Overall it is pretty good. I like the part were they tell the uses of flint.

How did they fit all those rocks between two covers?
Most of the rock-and-mineral books I see are full of colorful pictures of exotic minerals, underground caves or far-away mountains. This is the first book I've come across that actually takes you to those places. The simple, clever mirror device pops those rocks right into your lap, or brings the mountain up close.

The information is accurate and well-written. Full color spreads illustrate the location or object and the photography is breathtaking. This is one you'll want to find space for, on that "oversized" book shelf, to accomodate the height of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

Textbook in sedimentology, petrology, and petrography of sand and sandstones. Includes new techniques and their utility, new literature, new illustrations, new problems. ... Read more

Book Description

Origin and Mineralogy of Clays, the first of two volumes, lays the groundwork for a thorough study of clays in the environment. The second volume will deal with environmental interaction. Going from soils to sediments to diagenesis and hydrothermal alteration, the book covers the whole spectrum of clays. The chapters on surface environments are of great relevance in regard to environmental problems in soils, rivers and lake-ocean situations, showing the greatest interaction between living species and the chemicals in their habitat. The book is of interest to scientists and students working on environmental issues. ... Read more

Book Description

Presents over 200 color photomicrographs of igneous rocks, showing fully the subtle variations in color essential for thin section study. Provides photos of the common textures found in igneous rocks around the world, and the 60 most common igneous rock types. Gives a brief explanation of each field of view. Shows how to prepare thin sections. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Useful book
It contains a lot of thin-section photo of igneous rocks. By reading the atlas of igneous rocks, we can classify their rocks type. It is a very great book for studying igneous rock. ... Read more

Book Description

Explore the fascinating world of beautiful mineral crystals and learn about the three great rock groups that make up our entire planet - igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.Take a close look at the so-called "rocks of fire".Understand the difference between lava and magma, and between rocks that form at the surface and those that form deep within the Earth.Learn how loose bits of rock, soil and organic debris are deposited in layers that eventually form sedimentary rocks that blanket the Earth.Understand how heat, pressure and fluids can change existing rock into metamorphic rock, and about the fascinating new minerals that form. Then shift your focus and discover Earth's bounty of renewable and non-renewable resources - from solar, wind, and other alternative energy sources to fossil fuels.Learn about conservation, reclamation and the 4 "R"s (recycle, reduce, reuse and remember!). ... Read more

Book Description

Rapid progress in sedimentology began in the 1960's and is continuing today. Not only has knowledge increased rapidly, but technology has as well. Small and inexpensive, but powerful, computers are changing the ways in which we gather, record, and analyze our data or test ideas. The pedagogical value of this text is evident in its careful approach to the discipline. Not only is the text technologically oriented (e.g. graphs of mathematical functions are programmed for automatic digital computation and plotting), the author has taken great care to consider the standard petrographic methods as well. Embracing the subdisciplines of sedimentary petrology, sedimentation, and stratigraphy, the text describes the composition, texture, and structure of all kinds of sedimentary rocks; the physical, chemical, and biological processes that create sediments are also considered. Examples of ancient and modern depositional and diagenetic systems serve to illustrate the scientific methods by which sedimentary process and product are described and diagnosed. This text is ideal for students of geology who have acquired a basic knowledge of mineralogy, petrology, and stratigraphy, and are ready to apply these skills to an exciting and challenging field. ... Read more

Book Description

Finding viable solutions to many of the problems threatening our environment hinges on understanding the rocks below the earth's surface. For those evaluating the relative hazards of radioactive waste sites, investigating energy resources such as oil, gas, and hydrothermal energy, studying the behavior of natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes, or charting the flow of groundwater through the earth, this book will be indispensable. Until now, there has been no book that treats the subject of the nature and behavior of rocks in a comprehensive yet accessible manner. Yves Guéguen and Victor Palciauskas first discuss the physical properties of rocks, proceeding by chapter through mechanical, fluid flow, acoustical, electrical, dielectric, thermal, and magnetic properties. Then they provide the theoretical framework for achieving reliable data and making reasonable inferences about the aggregate system within the earth. Introduction to the Physics of Rocks covers the important and most current theoretical approaches to the physics of inhomogeneous media, including theoretical bounds on properties, various effective medium theories, percolation, and fractals.

This book will be of use to students and researchers in civil, petroleum, and environmental engineering and to geologists, geophysicists, hydrologists, and other earth scientists interested in the physics of the earth. Its clear presentation, with problems at the end of each chapter and selective references, will make it ideal for advanced undergraduate-or graduate-level courses. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive and up-to-date text offers a new conceptual framework for metamorphic petrology.Over the last twenty years, the field has undergone revolutionary changes, due in large part to the progress seen in thermodynamic investigations of metamorphic reactions and to intensive field studies based on petrological, tectonic, geological, thermobarometric, geochronological, and geophysical methods.The text begins with detailed discussions of the latest advances, such as prograde and progressive metamorphism, P-T-t paths, thermal peaks, classifications and thermodynamic characteristics of metamorphic reactions, the relations of isograds to thermal-peak isotherms and isobars, the polychronous origin of isograds, internal and external buffering, and infiltration of externally derived fluids.Discussions proceed to more traditional petrological subjects, such as metamorphic facies, a P/T ratio classification of metamorphic regions, and the tectothermal evolution of metamorphic belts.The change with temperature and pressure of the paragenetic relations of minerals and the chemical compositions of solid-mineral minerals are also discussed. Petrological and mineralogical data of metamorphic rocks are classified according to metamorphic facies and P/T ratio types, and are described with reference to their thermodynamic and geological implications.The book concludes with a history of metamorphic petrology, placing our current knowledge in context with what must still be learned.The text is essential reading for all students and researchers in petrology and regional tectonics. ... Read more

Book Description

Geological Society of London Handbook Series Edited by Keith Cox Founded in 1807, the Geological Society of London has been publishing since 1845 and now distributes its journal to Fellows throughout the world. This Handbook is published as part of a series of authoritative practical guides to field geology. The Field Description of Metamorphic Rocks This handbook describes how metamorphic rocks and rock masses may be observed, recorded and mapped in the field. Written at a level suitable for undergraduate students of geology, this book (as with its companion volumes in the series) has firmly established itself as an essential tool for any geologist — student, professional or amateur — faced with the task of making a general description of an area of metamorphic rocks. A clear, systematic framework together with numerous diagrams, illustrations and checklists enables readers to produce useful and broadly similar descriptions, despite possible differences of background or specialist interest. This well-written and well-produced little text will, I am certain, become standard reading for most geology undergraduates. It will also interest many geologists who do not regularly work in metamorphic terrains and will be particularly useful to engineering geologists and civil engineers who are often concerned with describing the fabrics of metamorphic rocks without being concerned about their origins. M.E. Jones, Mineralogical Magazine Contents: Metamorphic Fieldwork and Mapping — Names and Categories of Metamorphic Rocks and Rock Units — Rock Banding — Minerals — Compositions — Grade — Textures — Fabric Types — Relations to Structures — Undeformed Pods — Augen — Pseudomorphs — Veins — Igneous Contacts — Metasomatism — Reaction Zones — Fault-Zones and Mylonites — Reference Tables and Checklists. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Introduction to rock collecting
This is certainly an excellent and handy introductory reference for anyone wanting to get into rock collecting. Clear and easy to read, the book provides a wealth of information, and has a number of illustrations. These illustrations are, however, black & white; there are no photos in this book. Nevertheless, an excellent book.

Specifically designed for easy reference
Now in an updated and expanded second edition, R.V. Dietrich's Stones: The Collection, Identification, And Uses continues to be a superb introductory guide for collectors with invaluable advice on where to find stones as well as information on how they are formed, how they can be used, why they vary in color, some are smooth while others rough, some nearly round and others all sorts of shapes. Specifically designed for easy reference, this pocket sized paperback is ideal for knapsack or jacket and offers handy identification tables for commonly found minerals and rocks. The informative text is enhanced with line drawing, an extensive glossary, and lists of suggested readings for further study. Stones is a wonderfully accessible primer, ideal for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in collecting and identifying rocks and minerals while camping or collecting. ... Read more