Customer Reviews

Color Atlas and Manual of Microscopy for Criminalists, Chemists, and Conservators

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I highly recommend this book for both students enrolled in a college-level forensic microscopy course and for practicing forensic scientists as a desk reference. It is packed with hundreds of color photomicrographs that are referenced and described in the text. Diagrams assist in understanding light paths through specimens. Actual case studies from Petraco and Kubic integrate the theoretical concepts with practical applications.

This textbook is a must have for both practicing microscopists and students of microscopy. The text photographically illustrates proper techniques used by professional microscopists in a variety of microscopical applications. The references provided with each chapter provide a great avenue for further studies. I highly recommend this textbook to college professors who teach introductory or advanced techniques of microscopy.

This "atlas and manual" is okay, but could be better.

The many images entice the reader/viewer. However,
the detractions are numerous. For instance, there
is an over abundant usage of acronyms. Secondly, many
chapters are too few pages and followed by splattering
of references. This reader believes the authors are
displaying their bookshelf in the reference sections.
Thirdly, there are many redundant images and charts.
Fourthly, many of the schematics are unprofessional

graphics, as if drawn in MSPaint. Fifthly, the figures
on common minerals and their crystal systems confuses
the reader/viewer with their morphology. There are some
technical errors, such as stating that "fiber glass" is
made from "silicone dioxide" and it is a "natural" polymer.
"Silicone".....really! Finally, I shall be sure to purchase
"melt mount".

This book is an extremely useful reference manual to have on hand for all microscopists. For the novice, it covers all the basics of microscopy that you will need to know. For the advanced students, it is a well-organized reference guide you will return to again and again. It's populated with lots of photographs and charts, and is an easy read. A definite must for any forensic criminalist's library!

I purchased this book for my husband, as he had previously seen excerpts and thought that the book would be good reference material. He certainly was not disappointed. The book gives clear and concise photographs and other documentation. It has proven helpful as a research resource, akin to "Google", just go to the Atlas and you're sure to find the information, or be pointed in the right direction.

The book is apparently put together from a couple of PowerPoint presentations. The printed graphics are partly very poor and commonly unsystematic, rarely explaining the point they attempt to make. References to standard text books and further studies are inadequate. The frequent and unnecessary use of abbreviations makes some chapters difficult to read. Some technical mistakes and misleadingly unprecise text passages have been spotted.

This book is too confusing for the novice of the field who just wants only an introduction and much too light-weight and superficial for the advanced reader.