Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones

by Hettie Judah

Inspired by the lapidaries of the ancient world, this book is a beautifully designed collection of true stories about sixty different stones that have influenced our shared history

The earliest scientists ground and processed minerals in a centuries-long quest for a mythic stone that would prolong human life. Michelangelo climbed mountains in Tuscany searching for the sugar-white marble that would yield his sculptures. Catherine the Great wore the wealth of Russia stitched in gemstones onto the front of her bodices.
 
Through the realms of art, myth, geology, philosophy and power, the story of humanity can be told through the minerals and materials that have allowed us to evolve and create. From the Taiwanese national treasure known as the Meat-Shaped Stone to Malta’s prehistoric “fat lady” temples carved in globigerina limestone to the amethyst crystals still believed to have healing powers, Lapidarium is a jewel box of sixty far-flung stones and the stories that accompany them. Together, they explore how human culture has formed stone, and the roles stone has played in forming human culture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Geology, History, Nature, Environment, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

One of those anthology-ish books where you get a couple of pages on each colour / stone / insect / whatever. As such it's interesting to dip into and useful for browsing for ideas.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself locked out of the house with nothing to amuse myself with, no phone to play with, and a three hour wait for the next person with keys to show up. So I did what any sane person would do, went into my local bookshop and bought a book I knew nothing about and couldn’t afford because the cover felt really nice.
As well as feeling good, it’s a beautifully presented book, with colours running through it, from the markers on the side to the muted colours in the depths near the spine. Aside from all of that I’m delighted I was locked out because it’s an incredibly interesting book and one I was genuinely sad to finish a couple of days later. These are stories about rocks, it’s not a geological textbook, but I learned a hell of a lot on the way, mostly I learned how little I know about geology and how cool rocks are.
It’s going on my ‘highly recommended’ bookshelf. That’s how much I enjoyed it.

[Katrina Rigsbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love rocks.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! yay rocks!!!

[Rev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was just okay. It was easy to read, and had plenty of interesting stories pertaining to the rocks that the author chose, but the chapters were very short (one was only two pages) and provided only a brief overview of the rocks in question. I found the layout rather lackluster for that reason. I think the book could've also benefited from more pictures, rather than just the single picture of each stone at the beginning of a chapter.

[Teddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️
8 maanden over gedaan maar goede dingen kosten tijd, zoals dit boek mooi beschrijft. De hoeveelheid kennis, niet alleen in geologie, maar ook in geschiedenis, kunst(geschiedenis) en maatschappelijke thema's die in dit boek verworven zijn is waanzinnig. Bij elke steen weer iets nieuws. Het enige wat ik miste was foto's bij voorbeelden. Ik snap dat dat niet bij alles kan maar ik moest zo vaak mijn telefoon erbij pakken om iets op te zoeken zodat ik begreep waarover er werd gepraat en dat haalt je toch uit je boek. Ik ga deze in de verre toekomst vast nog een keer lezen. Als je houdt van stenen en leuke feitjes, kies vooral dit boek, het is een aanrader.

[S. Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever gazed into a stone and wondered as to the stories it stores? The powers it possesses? In her fascinating book, Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones, Hettie Judah explores the hidden history of these lithic marvels, from their role in ancient cultures to their modern-day influences and uses.

An absolute feast for the senses, the book itself feels very much like a collector’s treasure hoarded wunderkammer of mythic and mysterious curiosities. It is split into six sections (Stones and Power, Sacred Stones, Stones and Stories, Stone Technology, Shapes in Stone, and Living Stones), and each section reveals a chapter devoted to unearthing an individual stone with imaginative, artful descriptions and a pretty wild, or wildly fascinating story connected to each stone.

It’s a stunningly presented and designed book, with color-coordinated pictures and beautiful illustrations by artist Nicky Pasterfield for each stone, evoking the charming pictures in old geological and scientific publications.

Referencing science, history, chemistry, physics, literature, philosophy, and pop culture, Lapidarium is an extravagantly storied chamber of stones, the next best thing to having a secret sparkling cache of curios at your fingertips. Writing with humor, compassion, and wit (I cackled out loud more times than I can count), Hettie leads us sure-footedly on our craggy journey down a glittering path of 60 mineralogical eccentricities, ancient souvenirs of deep-Earth drama, and travelogues that cross the strata of time as well as space.

Amongst these essays exploring how human culture has formed stone and, conversely, the roles stone has played in forming human culture, one will read of the Meat-Shaped Stone of Taiwan, a piece of banded jasper that resembles a tender piece of mouth-watering braised pork belly, There is the soap opera melodrama of Pele’s Hair, golden strands of volcanic glass, spun into hair-fine threads by volcanic gasses and blown across the landscape. And not to mention the hysterical metaphysical WTFery of angel-appointed wife swaps in the chapter of alchemist and astrologer John Dee’s smoky quartz cairngorm, as well as, the mystical modern-day TikTik moldavite craze vibing amongst those of the witchy-psychic persuasion. I cannot even tell you how many times I paused in my reading to open a new Google tab and research, thinking, “holy fake crystal skulls/malachite caskets/pyroclastic flow rap lyrics! I gotta learn more about this!”

From the elegance of emerald moons to humble fossilized feces, from violent lunar origin stories to simple earthen pigments, Lapidarium is richly abundant with interesting facts, poignant stories, and weird anecdotes about stones. And though I read this book straight through from start to finish, this is absolutely the sort of bibliomantic tome that one might flip through at random, choosing a chapter based on mood or whim: learn a weird rock fact, let it lodge in your brain like a wayward pebble in your shoe, and allow it to guide your energies for the day.

After finishing Lapidarium, I realized I could have happily spent loads more time in the terrestrial spectacle of those enigmatic realms, but once you get to the acknowledgments, that’s pretty much the end of the line (I read them all, anyway!) Not yet ready to leave this post-book mental space now lit crystalline and glittering with the fruits of the earth thanks to Hettie’s heady prose, I thought I might ask the author and art historian a few questions–which she kindly answered for me in this blog post https://unquietthings.com/lapidarium-...

[katie meddins (maresh) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘stone moves, grows, and dies’

this is a lovely collection of short pieces on a variety of rocks and minerals. it is generally quite holistic in its approach, and in the introduction the author notes that their background is art history, and given this i was pleasantly surprised by how well rounded this was, looking at both the cultural and geological aspects in relatively equal measure.
i think this could be enjoyed by anyone because of this. for example, my background is geochemistry and so this book gave the joy of new knowledge on the cultural and historical side, and the joy of recognising a familiar name or theory on the science side. i imagine someone with a humanities background would find equal joy the other way around, and those who specialise in neither would enjoy the variety this book offers.

on a final note, this book is gorgeous and the art is lovely

[Allie Vandewege · Rating 3 out of 5]

The design and illustration alone makes this book worth it!!!! However, I thought 60 different vignettes was too ambitious, I really loved some sections and wish they were longer to go a bit more in depth and then I could have done without others. But such a cool blend of geological and human history!!

[Thiliel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, dense, beautiful and entertaining. Culturally diverse, not just eurocentristic! What a gem (pun intended).

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literal treasure box of stories about the stones and minerals and the ways in which they have shaped human lives. I loved these very human stories about the natural world.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book about rocks. Who cares. Boring.
Entries for 60 different stones & minerals, focusing on the historical & cultural uses of the various stones, while not neglecting the story told by the geology of each mineral. Includes the stories of various chemists, archaeologists, jewelers, prospectors, collectors, among others. One of the most interesting geological facts I learned from Lapidarium is that the process that formed coal only took place in the Carboniferous era 360-300 million years ago, so no more coal is being formed, not even millions of years from now. I also learned from this book that Coltan is valuable because it's an ore of Tantalum. Also points out that the provenances of most of the most famous jewels are fabricated (especially the ones claiming to go back centuries). There is no Discogs entry for “Ujaraaluk Unit”. A good book to read immediately before or after reading The Name of the Rose.

[Aleksandra Gratka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lapidarium to miejsce przechowywania i prezentowania okazów kamieni naturalnych i wytworów z tej materii. Hettie Judah potraktowała ów kamienny temat dość rozlegle - odnosząc się do historii, wierzeń, literatury, architektury. Geologia stała się nauką opowiadającą historie.

Autorka pogrupowała opowieści o kamieniach na kategorie związane m.in. z władzą, świętością czy technologią. Spodziewałam się pozycji typu - jesteś Skorpionem, kup naszyjnik z bursztynów, a dostałam niespodziankę, którą przeczytałam z zainteresowaniem, notując sporo ciekawostek.

Marmur jako symbol rzymskiej chwały. Cenny bursztyn, z którego w średniowieczu robiono różańce, a przemytników wieszano. 755 kawałków nefrytu w grobowcu Fu Hao, chińskiej królowej, pierwszej kobiety w randze generała. Ametyst, który dorobił się opinii "nader zapracowanego uzdrowiciela", bo ponoć leczy wiele dolegliwości - od oczu po układ moczowy. Jadeit - święty kamień Majów. Chryzoberyl, którym zachwycał się Dorian Gray. Mołdawit, który mógłby zagrać kryptonit z serii o Supermanie. Spinel podszywający się pod rubin. Syberyjski akwamaryn odebrany carowi Mikołajowi II przed egzekucją. Mika przetwarzana przez więźniów w obozie w Theresienstadt. Wreszcie koralowce, które mają związek z mityczną Meduzą czy koprolity, czyli skamieniałe kupy...

To zaledwie wycinek z bogactwa informacji zawartych w tym pięknie wydanym tomie. Byłam na targach kamieni szlachetnych z córką, wiem, jakie tłumy są zainteresowane tematem. To książka w sam raz dla nich, ale i laik będzie miał frajdę, co stwierdzam na własnym przykładzie.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this book except for that my mind somehow rejected it? While reading, I couldn't wait to keep going and see what they'd talk about next. The moment I stopped reading, it literally left my head and I couldn't tell you a single thing that had been mentioned so far.

Hand to God, I could probably not name a stone they talked about in this book without great effort.

[Dan McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the "around the world in 80 things" format. Short sections dedicated to a single stone that has an interesting story. From coal and coral to the earliest stone formations on earth, this was an interesting read that had me googling images and information as I read!

[Daphyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of vignettes, each about a different stone. The vast majority focus more on history and art versus geology though there is some basic geology. I only wish the author had used larger font because this seemed tiny. And be prepared to google the various art pieces because illustrations are not included.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok but why did I love a book about stones so much?
Audiobook 5⭐️, some might find the book format boring to read (short stories about stones and people).

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a gorgeously presented book! i love how each stone is like a museum exhibit with a story of a quirky chapter of history.

[Mark Spoelhof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg, rocks!….🤘🏼🫠

[DaniPhantom · Rating 3 out of 5]

yay stones!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved this book. It is visually stunning with very high-quality illustrations and an overall fantastic design of the book. I love the detail of adding the stratigraphic scale on the side to mark the different parts. The content was also very interesting and fun to read, the stones really came to life through 2-3 page stories of their history. Would 100000% recommend it even if you're not the biggest geology enthusiast, this has to be one of my fave books of all time.

[Ciri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ah, science, you killer of dreams.

Well, not really, but that is the tone this book takes, and despite the interesting collection of rocks and minerals detailed in this book, the focus is heavily and irredeemably skewed towards art and history. The author, it seems, banks on the strengths of her background, and while the book promises to engage us with archeology, geology, mythology, literature, science, sociology and philosophy, any interesting cross-disciplinary facts are drowned out by the sheer volume of historical detailing.

This book is more people-centric than stone centric. Each essay isn't actually about a stone, it's a niche tale about people with a connection to the stone in question, and it's the people that the essay focuses on. This in itself isn't a failing, but combined with the overuse of minor historical details and dates and bulky context (which, surely could have been reduced down) it is quite difficult to sift through and actually find any vaguely interesting information.

In addition, the science side of things is particularly lacking. I want information I won't find in the first minute of a wikipedia scroll, and I want something memorable enough to take away. Yet, there's hardly any science at all, and what little there is – well, it's not very well explained. The author doesn't have a science background, but surely a consult wouldn't have been out of the question?

Except it's not just the science I have to criticise, even mythologies have been neglected. Let's talk about amber, which was named elektron for its ability to produce static electricity. Instead of explaining this vital piece of information, and the adjacent etymological mythology (e.g. the daughters of Helios the sun god, and their tears of elektron or 'beaming sun', and how elektron is the root to electricity etc etc), we are offered the greek name, and then... the writing takes a diversion into talking about lynx urine. Then electricity is brought up again (without the connection back to elektron) and we are taken through a jarring summary of the discovery of amber's properties with a profusion of unexplained quotes. Which – poor writing, if you ask me.

Here's the thing: I wanted to be able to come away from each chapter able to say a couple of sentences about each stone, but this book will leave you with a half–remembered sentence on someone who owned the stone in a century you probably won't remember. It's just a wholly unbalanced book. I wanted to love it – I think there should be loads of books encouraging us to reconnect with the natural world, to come away with some general knowledge about our planet and our surroundings and how it's shaped human civilisation at large. These tales do none of this. They're much too niche, poorly pulled together and not particularly interesting. As much as I liked the Rani of Kapurthala's crescent-shaped emerald, I really can't say I know anything about emeralds in general after reading this book. And that was one of my favourite chapters.

Lapidarium is a beautifully illustrated book, but I just don't think it's been done well. When compared to similar books across other subjects, like Around the World in 80 Trees, I find this sorely lacking. There are books which really pull together history and science and nature and people but I find this is just not one of them.

[espresso z pomarańczą ☕ · Rating 3 out of 5]

To książka popularnonaukowa, w której mamy opisanych kilkadziesiąt kamieni – o każdym jest kilka stron. Wiadomo, że w kilku stronach nie da się zawrzeć całej historii kamienia, jego pochodzenia geologicznego i zastosowania, dlatego autorka skupiła się raczej na samych ciekawostkach i jedynie pobieżnie opisuje, jak dany minerał powstaje.
Pomimo, że tylko jeden rozdział ma tytuł „Kamienie i opowieści” to tak naprawdę, w każdym z nich jakaś opowieść związana z opisywanym kamieniem się znajduje. Czy to historia badacza lub badaczki, czy przekazywanego z pokolenia na pokolenie klejnotu. Mnóstwo wiedzy bezużytecznej, ale niewątpliwie ciekawej.
Czytanie od deski do deski jest raczej nudne, wydaje mi się, że natomiast jako przydatny rekwizyt dla zainteresowanych tematem, żeby sprawdzić sobie historie swoich ulubionych kamieni, świetnie sprawdzi się na półce.
Co z magią? Jeden rozdział i owszem dotyczy „Świętych kamieni”, ale o magicznych właściwościach tutaj nie poczytacie – autorka dość wyraźnie odcina się od tiktokowych wróżek. Jeśli jakiś kamień był elementem wierzeń, jest to wspomniane, ale jeśli oczekujecie po tej książce poradnika, do tego, co ze sobą nosić, to nie jest pozycja dla Was.
Wizualnie książka jest wydana ładnie, podoba mi się to, że na bokach są kolorami zaznaczone poszczególne rozdziały. Czcionka jest trochę mała, a przypisy znajdują się na końcu, co jest kolejnym punktem utrudniającym czytanie całości jednym ciągiem.
Jak na literaturę popularnonaukową przystało – język jest bardzo przystępny, nie ma naukowej „gadaniny”. Pokusiłabym się o stwierdzenie, że to dobra książka także dla zainteresowanych historią – bo jest jej tutaj chyba nawet więcej niż geologii.

[Brannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally published on NetGalley.com. I was given an ebook freely by NetGalley and the book’s publisher in return for a voluntary and honest review.

Lapidaries: The Secret Lives of Stones
By Hettie Judah

Hettie Judah breaks her book down by types of stones into these categories;Stones and Powers, Sacred Stones, Stones and Stories, Stone Technology, Shapes in Stones and Living Stones. Under each of these divisions Judah discusses between 9-11 different stones.

Judah is an amazing writer. She weaves stone through human history showing us how we gave different types of stone the power of royalty and worship. She breaks down the history of each individual stone and how it’s impacted the human race through history. We interweave them in our mythology. They become a medium for our artwork generation after generation. Our advancement as a species came about by forging stone tools even now the Industrial Revolution was possible because of coal.

I truly lost myself reading this book and discovering how important stones are to us all even in our modern age. Do yourself a favor and get this book.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked rocks. My dad was a geologist and taught us about the rocks around us whenever we traveled on vacation. In jewelry my preference has always been for the semiprecious stones that had some character and color to them. This book talks a lot about the history of stones, how they came to be, their presence in geological and human history, and culture. The approximately 60 stones are divided into chapters: Stones and power (amber, emerald, ruby & sapphire are here); Sacred stones (including amethyst, granite, jet, Pele's hair, turquoise); Stones and stories (diamond, lapis lazuli, moon rock & opal are here); Shapes in stone (including aquamarine, chalk, onyx & quartz); Stone technology (coal, flint, lodestone, mica & obsidian are here); Living stones (including coprolite, pearl, slate). There 's a lexicon to help with some terminology. Index of course.
This could have used more illustrations. It gets a little technical in places, but not enough to overwhelm the casual reader.

[Edie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Lapidarium” offers a collection of anecdotes on different stones (although for some of the entries calling them stones is a bit of a stretch). The selections struck me as arbitrary, despite the author’s explanations as to why certain things belonged in one chapter rather than another. This randomness does make it more interesting as amethyst is followed by cairngorm and tuff precedes turquoise.

Graphically this book is lovely and the stories are fascinating. But there is one glaring error. As far as photographs are concerned, we get only one picture of each stone and nothing else. No examples of anything mentioned and described on the pages. Nada. Of course, had these been included it would have been a bigger and more expensive book. But perhaps it should have been. As it stands it’s just frustrating.

So read this and enjoy, but keep your phone, tablet or computer handy so you can look up the many interesting things mentioned.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ook verkrijgbaar in het Nederlands. Daarom deze Nederlandstalige review. Ook is mijn Nederlands ietsje beter dan mijn Engels, een reden temeer...

Om te beginnen: de lay-out van dit boek is superstrak en zeer mooi. Van elk soort steen of mineraal heb je een duidelijke foto. Tegelijkertijd is deze strakke lay-out een nadeel. De auteur heeft het vaak over een of ander prachig sieraad, maar buiten die ene foto van elke steen, zijn er dus geen illustraties.

Dit boek is zowat de Bijbel der Stenen. Elke van de zowat 60 bijzondere stenen wordt beschreven in een viertal pagina's. Niet alleen wordt beschreven hoe en waar deze ontstonden, ook welke volkeren of bekende historische figuren een speciale omgang hadden met deze stenen wordt uit de doeken gedaan.

De schrijver heeft duidelijk zijn opzoekwerk gedaan, dit is wel geen boek om in één ruk uit te lezen. Maar enkele steentjes per dag voor het slapengaan, maken de geest rustig!

[Vaconafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Za egzemplarz książki do recenzji w ramach współpracy barterowej dziękuję bardzo wydawnictwu.

Książka została świetnie wydana. Mamy tu 6 grup kamieni, w której każdy kamień jest opisany i mamy rysunki je przedstawiające. Mi się bardzo podobało to opowiadanie o kamieniach na przełomie wieków dzięki któremu można poznać wiele ciekawych faktów historycznych, do których mamy sporo przypisów, jeśli którychś wątek kogoś by bardziej zainteresował to wie po jakie pozycje z literatury warto sięgnąć. Jest to książka stricte naukowa, i z otwartym umysłem na naukę i poszerzanie wiedzy należy do niej podejść.

To kawałek solidnej lektury, której nie czytamy do poduszki na raz, ale po którą sięgamy regularnie by zagłębiać historię kamieni i odkrywać jak ukształtowały świat. W końcu jak to niektórzy mawiają Ziemia to jedna wielka kula kamieni.

Jeśli interesuje Was poznanie historii kamieni i ich znaczenia w różnych cywilizacjach to ta książka jest idealna dla Was.

[Tim]

Niet uitgelezen, gestopt op blz. 105. Geen rating gegeven.

Volgens mij was het beter geweest als er per steensoort wat meer structuur in had gezeten. Het onderwerp varieert telkens heel erg, waardoor zeg maar de 'basisinhoud' ook erg verschilt per steen. De ene keer wordt er enkel en alleen gekeken naar puur het belang van de steen wat betreft de menselijke samenleving, dan wordt er weer wat verteld over de geologische ontstaansgeschiedenis ervan, of over de vindplaatsen, of allebei... Een meer systematische aanpak - geologische achtergrond, vindplaats, chemisch-fysische eigenschappen, verband met en belang voor de mens en zijn geschiedenis - had het Lapidarium overzichtelijker en daardoor aangenamer om te lezen gemaakt. Wat er staat, is over het algemeen zeker interessant, maar ik miste gewoon een duidelijke rode draad.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fascinating and fantastically written collection of history snippets. You don’t have to be a rock nerd like me to enjoy this, I promise. Each chapter focuses on one type of stone/crystal/mineral and how it has either globally shaped humanity or how a specific person in history has been tied to it. From eccentric clergy who were obsessed with coprolites (fossilized poo), Chinese philosophers who devoted their time meditating on odd shaped lingbi stones, one woman who was the first to single-handedly unearth whole skeletal fossils of ichthyosauruses from blue lias, to dandies who flaunted lesser sought after gemstones, and a master maker of museum grade flint knapping fakes - to name a few.
I wish there were successive volumes, so I could hear the wild tales of other stones that the author didn’t touch on in this one.