Peterson First Guide(R) to Rocks and Minerals (Peterson First Guides) [Paperback]

Frederick H. Pough (Author), Roger Tory Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Peterson First Guides

Written and designed for the beginner, this book describes and illustrates the most common and interesting rocks and minerals, from simple sandstone to exotic gems. Illustrated with dozens of beautiful color photographs, it tells how these rocks and minerals formed and how to identify them--and includes tips on collecting. 175 color photographs, 12 line drawings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (May 24, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395562759
• ISBN-13: 978-0395562758
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.7 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,412,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good resource, September 29, 2008

By 

Karen Retzlaff (Petersburg, ND, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals (Paperback)

This particular "rock identificatin book" is pretty good. The photos of samples are good and in color. However, it is not a comprehensive as our earth science instructor had hoped. On the whole, it is a good text for beginners.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To the point, basics, and a lot of examples., December 1, 2009

By 

M. A. Hancock "Cheapskate Reader" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals (Paperback)

This book is small, easily fits into your pocket, sturdy for its tall size, and filled with brilliant photos or examples with short descriptions as the pages go on.

As a direct read it is a quickie, but it is also a decent reference guide to the most common rocks, metals, and crystals. It discusses basic geology and the formation of the planet and what makes our elements, it gives to-the-point single paragraphs on a lot of basic material. This would be a great guide to the starting geologist or student hungering for a hobby.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great beginner resource, February 12, 2010

By 

D. Graham - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals (Paperback)

As a hobbyist I was looking for a good book to start off with. I found this book to be a great starting place. The introduction is clear and provides enough details to set the stage for understanding the rest of the material. There are photographs of each type of rock and mineral presented. The rocks and minerals are presented in a clear and concise manner with just enough information to give the reader a general idea of the chemical composition, physical description, and typical locations for each item discussed.

I also found the writing style of this book pleasant and enjoyable to read.