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Cambridge Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils

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An authoritative and practical identification guide to minerals, rocks and fossils of the world. This new edition of a classic reference work has been completely revised, updated and redesigned, with new extended introductory sections and appendices. An invaluable handbook for amateur collectors and specialists alike, this book is small and compact enough to carry in the pocket or backpack. Over 600 specimens in full colour Every specimen described and illustrated on the same double-page spread Over 300 line drawings identifying structures and features"

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

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5 stars
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4 stars
23 (41%)
3 stars
13 (23%)
2 stars
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for L.S..
608 reviews57 followers
January 7, 2009
This is a very usefull tool if you are studying mineralogy, petrography and even paleontology. It has a great deal of information about the samples, it gives precise key for the determination of the minerals/ rocks and even has some mentions about the confusions that one could make when trying to identify a mineral. The fossil sections is quite extensive and presents the main genra that a student could came accros.
I used it for my practical exams and I am still using it for the samples from my web museum.
Profile Image for Jeff.
353 reviews34 followers
October 26, 2016

1st Read: September 1, 2016 - October 26, 2016

For as much as I love geology and rocks, nature and things of the earth, this book hasn't kept my interest too much. I'll keep it on hand as a reference book, but I won't be finishing it anytime soon, as it doesn't read like a good story.
One thing this book could have done to benefit the reader would have been to give a correct pronunciation for so many of the words. I often found myself reading the word out loud a few times as to how it is said properly.
Profile Image for Sally.
1,244 reviews38 followers
June 4, 2012
Not only is it well-organized, heavily illustrated and fairly easy to understand, get this:

"To make the best use of the book the contents page and index should be used freely."

The authors are index aficionados! Perhaps I should be striving to index rock and mineral guides!
Profile Image for Johnathan Savard.
4 reviews1 follower
July 21, 2014
My go-to book when planning a mineral collecting trip (after all, who wants to lug textbooks out and about?)
40 reviews1 follower
December 20, 2017
New to the hobby of rockhounding and this book is very helpful!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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