Catalogue of Meteorites [Hardcover]

Monica M. Grady (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521663032 | ISBN-13: 978-0521663038 | Publication Date: October 16, 2000 | Edition: 5

`his fifth edition of Catalogue of Meteorites will, like previous editions, be the essential reference volume for all those with an informed interest in meteorites. It is the definitive descriptive list of the British Natural History Museum, which maintains the offical world database of all known meteorite falls and finds. Coverage includes the 10,000 new specimens recovered since the publication of the fourth edition, including those from Antarctica. Plus, for the first time, a CD-ROM accompanies the book, which includes greatly expanded information and an important search facility.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...excellent and definitive...The Catalogue is the major reference volume for everyone interested in meteorites: professional scientists, meteoriticists, collectors, dealers and academic libraries." Planetarian

"The new edition is a must-have book for anybody in the field. Taken as a whole, this package is an incredibly valuable resource for meteoriticists and nonscientists with an interest in meteorites." Meteorites & Planetary Science

"This book represents a prodigious amount of human endeavor, and the meteorite community owes Monica Grady an enormous debt of gratitude. If you are a serious amateur or professional, you will want this book." Meteorite, Feb. 2001

"...a critical resource volume for geologists and historians studying meteorites. It should be in every academic library. I also recommend it for individuals who often study the history and/or science associated with meteorites." Earth Science History

Book Description

The fifth edition of Catalogue of Meteorites will, like previous editions, become an essential reference volume for all those with an informed interest in meteorites. It is the definitive descriptive list of the British Natural History Museum, which maintains the official world database of all known meteorite falls and finds. It includes the 10,000 new specimens recovered since publication of the fourth edition, including those from Antarctica. An important development is the addition of CD-ROM to accompany the book, which includes greatly expanded information and an important search facility.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 696 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 5 edition (October 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521663032
• ISBN-13: 978-0521663038
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,157,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catalogue of Meteorites, Edited by Monica Grady, February 13, 2001

By 

Joel Schiff (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catalogue of Meteorites (Hardcover)

The Big Blue Book is back. This time around the cover has a close-up photo of olivine laths in a barred olivine chondrule, and at 689 pages, is bigger and better than ever. There is a listing of 22,507 authenticated meteorites up to December 1999 which also come on a CD-ROM.

The origins of the Catalogue go back to 1847 with a listing of the 62 meteorites of the British Museum. Subsequent periodic updates were issued and in 1923, George Prior, the Keeper of Minerals of the British Museum, issued the first worldwide Catalogue of Meteorites. The well-known 4th edition, edited by Graham, Bevan, and Hutchison was published in 1985.

The 5th edition not only has ten thousand more meteorites (including such recent discoveries as the Martian Los Angeles meteorite or a Saharan EL4-5 called Grein 002), but it also reflects the multitude of changes that have taken place in the field of meteoritics in the past 15 years. Type 3 chondrites now have petrologic subtypes (3.0 to 3.9), enstatite chondrites are now distinguished as EH or EL, there are new carbonaceous chondrite groups, CH, CK, and CR, as well as the new groupings of acapulcoites, brachinites, rumurutiites and winonaites. The SNCs are now described, perhaps with a bit of British understatement, "probably from Mars". There are also various stylistic changes like dropping the ordinary chondrite terms "bronzite", "hypersthene", and "amphoterite", replacing them simply with H, L, and LL. However, the overall format is the same as the 1985 edition and readers of the latter will be right at home with this one.

Another new feature to the 2000 edition is the listing of tables of Antarctic meteorites, meteorites from the Nullarbor region, Australia, meteorites from Roosevelt County, New Mexico, and over 1500 meteorites recovered from the Sahara Desert.

Even some of the citations have changed. For example, the TKW of Nakhla is now 10 kg, due to the research of Kevin Kichinka (Meteorite! Aug. '98) down from the original 40 kg and the infamous phrase, "one of the stones killed a dog", now reads, "one of the stones reputedly killed a dog". Divnoe has been upgraded to an "ungrouped achondrite", and although this reviewer thought it was actually a brachinite, Alan Rubin informs me that Monica is correct. Gao and Guenie have now been amalgamated into the one fall denoted Gao-Guenie. The recently found Nadiabondi individuals have maintained their status under that name even though there was some speculation they might be associated with the Gao-Guenie fall. Apparently not.

The inclusion of a CD-ROM makes this edition of the CM so much more useful than previous editions and more in keeping with modern databases. Once it is installed on your computer you do not have to put the disk in again as it resident on your harddrive ready to use. You can search for a single entry, or use the data fields to do more complex searches, like finding all CM2 carbonaceous chondrites from Australia (Adelaide, Lookout Hill, Murchison). Filling in the search form is easy and you do not need a manual to run it. You do have to remember to select "valid" from one of the drop down lists as otherwise you get doubtful returns as well. The search speed probably depends on the speed of your computer: my 600 MHz Gateway took about 10 seconds for multiple searches, but was virtually instantaneous if searching for a particular meteorite. The CD-ROM also has more analytical data and more complete reference citations for the researcher than the book itself.

Of course in any work of this great magnitude, there are a few misprints/glitches, but I won't dwell on these. There are some people who would go to a concert by Heifetz and listen only for the wrong notes (if any!)

It is entirely fitting that there are meteorites named Grady (p.220). This book represents a prodigious amount of human endeavor, and the meteorite community owes Monica Grady an enormous debt of gratitude. If you are a serious amateur or a professional, you will want to have this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply for professional use, May 14, 2011

By 

Eugen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Catalogue of Meteorites (Hardcover)

Do not expect any photos in this book. It is very detailed one, and professional, but no spectaclar at all.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars New fifth edition, October 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Catalogue of Meteorites (Hardcover)

The enclosed CD-ROM is for PC only. With a MAC version, my rating would be five stars.