FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Tracy]

Curious - for the Desautels book, I found editions circa 1968-72 for as little as a penny, but for other years the price rapidly escalates. Any idea why?

It's also worth mentioning that the Pough book might be more readily recognized as one of the Petersen's Field Guide series. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I own a copy, and yes, it has been a HUGE help with learning about and identifying specimens.

- Tracy

[rhodos]

I'm a total newbie to mineral collecting, though I did do my undergraduate thesis in metamorphic petrology. The book that I came to again and again while looking at thin sections was Deer Howie & Zussman's An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals. Though technical, it's a great reference book for in the field or sorting through specimens. And if it doesn't offer enough info, the four (or five) volume expanded set seems fairly comprehensive, in my humble opinion. I really am a fan of the simple line drawings that accompany each mineral name, illustrating clearly the crystal form.
Jesse