The Essential Atlas of Fossils and Minerals [Paperback]

Parramon Studios (Series Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2003

Here is a beautifully produced and illustrated reference volume that shows and explains everything from dinosaur bones to mineral formations, including precious and semiprecious stones. Amateur geologists and other nature lovers can use this book as a field guide. It also makes a fine classroom supplement for middle school and high school students. An introductory section uses cross-section diagrams and photos to show the Earth's composition and the effects of weathering and erosion on rock and mineral formations. The book also instructs students and nature lovers on locating specimens for their collections, then on methodically cataloguing them and exhibiting them in a presentation case or cabinet. Readers are instructed on the properties of crystals as well as on the formation and fashioning of metals, including gold, silver, and copper. They will also find information on the origins and composition of igneous and sedimentary rock, plus tips on how and where to find animal and shell fossils embedded in rock. The Essential Atlas of Fossils and Minerals is a fine teaching supplement and a book that deserves a place at home and in school libraries.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This information-packed atlas combines attractive photos and illustrations with lucid text to present a general overview of fossils and minerals from the differing perspectives of geology, paleontology, and collecting. The book’s many color illustrations are complemented with brief, enlightening descriptions of the formation and characteristics of the various specimens. Readers will also find information on the best way to collect and classify fossils and minerals. Separate sections focus on crystals, gemstones, metals and nonmetals, and sedimentary and igneous rock formations, as well as fossilized shells, insects, and bones.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (December 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764127101
• ISBN-13: 978-0764127106
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lost in Translation?, January 13, 2006

By 

M. Shaffer (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Atlas of Fossils and Minerals (Paperback)

I was excited to find this book at my local library. I found it in the adult section. Yet At first blush, it seemed brief enough to recommend to the children's department; it seemed to have a really nice organizational format going for it until I actually read the book. Now I can only recommend this book to the remainder bin, but ideally it should be recalled. There is one glaring error where rubellite was illustrated with a blue gem. As the name suggests rubellite tourmaline is red!

Further, the illustrations are inconsistent. Most show a specimen of the mineral or gem in question, but there are pictures of a book and a knife, to name two examples, showing the use of the mineral instead of a shot of the specimen itself. This usage approach would have been excellent for a juvenile book, but only as an adjunct to the actual specimens being represented. And there was one photo that was so inscrutable, that I could not make out what was being shown at all; it appeared to be a closeup of a jeweler's bench doing something with a torch. No explanation was given.

There was an inconsistency in the Gunning-Fogg level of the vocabulary. Some terms were defined in the text, while others went begging for explanation, and there is no glossary-points off for any non-fiction book using a specialized vocabulary that does not have a glossary. Thus, this book seems to have suffered from a rush to print without considering the age or expertise of the reader it was aiming to reach.

If I could give it zero stars, I would.

4.0 out of 5 stars What ON EARTH are you doing?, June 2, 2007

By 

I. M. BARRETT "RADREFLECTOR" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Atlas of Fossils and Minerals (Paperback)

A book to give that extra introduction of these important special subjects of geology. Pupils at school, first-year students at university and anyone interested in geology will find this a useful book about the world on which we live and its crust.