Rocks, Gems And Minerals (A Golden Guide From St. Martin's Press)

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This handy identification guide to the most common kinds of rocks and minerals offers concise and fascinating information on:- Physical and chemical properties- Origins and geologic significance- Gems and semiprecious stones- How to find and collect specimensIllustrated in full color throughout, Rocks, Gems and Minerals is a gem of a guide for rockhounds and mineral collectors!

Series: A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press

Paperback: 160 pages

Publisher: Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (April 14, 2001)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1582381321

ISBN-13: 978-1582381329

Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.3 x 6 inches

Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #86,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Mineralogy #20 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides > Rocks & Minerals #33 in Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Rocks & Minerals

This was my first book on identification at the age of 10. These guides were invaluable teaching tools back when there wasn't much else around for the young reader, and this was one of the earlier guides in the set, which eventually grew to dozens of books, some on specialized topics, such as Fungi and Non-Flowering Plants, Pond Life, Fossils, Seashells, Spiders and Their Relatives, The Heart, Light and Color, The Sky Observers Guide, and Landforms, which was essentially the guide on structural geology, so they covered a huge range of subjects.The guides dispensed a great deal of information in small compass, and they were all 256 pages long, which meant every topic had to fit into the same format. Originated and originally edited by the great Herbert Zim, who wrote about 90 books and edited another 90 or so books, these little books were wonderful little guides at a quite modest price.This book covers all the main groups of rocks and minerals, with each page being devoted to a particular mineral. The chemical formulas appear next to the main name or heading, which back then, I didn't understand too well, but then I was only about 10. It peaked my curiosity to learn more. There is even a page showing the Bowen reaction series, which shows the thermodynamic relationship between the minerals in a typical silicate melt, which means how the minerals precipitate out and crystallize as the temperature cools. To this day, I still remember that sequence, which went from olivine, augite, hornblende, biotite, orthoclase feldspar, quartz, and zeolite on one side, and went from sodic to calcic feldspar on the other side of the diagram, which looked like sort of a tuning fork. (If only my memory was as good today 45 years later. :-))There is also information on identification using oxidizing and reducing flame methods, specific gravity, optical methods, and hardness. The Mohs scale gets discussed of course, and some basic petrology, so you at least learn about the basic rock types, but most of the book is really about minerals rather than rocks or petrology per se. If you want to get a real background in rock types and identification, you'll need a more detailed book for that.The illustrations are drawings and paintings rather than photos, and some people might prefer photos. Many of the other brief guides have photos.These books were great teaching aids and have helped several generations of young readers increase their understanding and appreciation of nature and natural history. Many of my own natural history studies, such as those for birds, the stars, and rocks and minerals, were started with these unpretentious but still quite good Golden Guides.I was once in touch with the editor of the series for many years (Vera Webster), who said that some of my books were out of print and might even be collectors items at some point, so hang on to these old guides, they might be worth something some day!

Well, I certainly expected a more comprehensive book, sort of an "identifier tool". However it's very interesting, covers a huge subject well. The illustrations look like a 1962 Earth Science text, but other than that I recommend.

I bought this for my 13 yr old grandson but with all the information, illustrations and locations of where to find everything it is perfect for any enthusiast wanting to take along. It is small enough as a paperback but the pix are large enough to help the beginner or more experienced alike. This is is very helpful and my grandson loved it.

I am a science teacher and I have used this book in the classroom.It is an excellent guide for beginners. Minerals are classified in 4 practical categories: Metallic, Nonmetallic, Gem, Rock Forming. This is more user friendly than the chemical classifications used by geologists. The economic uses of each mineral are also mentioned. There is a section describing the various tests used to identify minerals (some of the professional tests shown here are not found in any other guide).The chapters on rocks are not as extensive as I would like. Many rock types are not included. But it provides a solid intro.Economic minerals including soil, fossil fuels, clay, and gravel make this a well rounded book.

Golden Guide Books are classic. This book is fabulous. These little Golden Guide Books are educational and entertaining. I was so pleased to find this book as I have several in this series. These are well written and can be enjoyed by ages 7 to 70.

I want to make clear this book is great if you are a chemistry major, or an amateur gemologist. It is very clear on the chemical compositions, etc of various rocks. The problem is, I thought it dealt more with the metaphysical and historical backgrounds of crystals, more along the lines of The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall. So, for serious study, I say buy it, but get Judy Hall's book if not!

I loved looking for rocks and gems as a kid, and I still do, so I had to check out this book when I found it. It's been a great read so far, and is just right for someone like me who is a rock and gem enthusiast and an amateur geologist.

It is a smaller book but I like that about it because it is easy to put in a pocket/backpack/bag to take it with you for identifying. I bought it for my nephew, it is great for little hands and has nice colored pages.

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