National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils

Another excellent book by the National Audubon Society. I was impressed with the photos of the various fossils, and was able to identify many that I have found around my cabin. This book will go to my grandson to enhance his growing collection of field guides.

If you're looking for a complete field guide on fossils, you can't beat Audubon's. More than pictures and identification -- there's a ton of history and science too.

I am certainly not an expert in this field, have no formal training. I am simply a rather old man who has been grubbing in the ground and dirt and in the rocks for most of my life and have had a fascination with fossels since a very, very young child. This particular book has brought me a lot of pleasure and added greatly to the enjoyment of my hobby of "grubbing." I realize that no one book can provide all the answers and identify all the fossil remains known (good grief, there are new ones being discovered every day it seems), but this work certainy meets my needs. I have yet to find a fossel that I was unable to identify with it's use, and at the very least, has given me clues as to where I might go to find the answers I needs. The photographs are great as are the written discriptions. I carry this one with me always when out in the field. Recommend this one highly.

If you're looking for an excellent fossil fieldguide, look no further. This is the first book I purchased to help me identify fossils, and have since purchased seven more but keep going back to this one. Why? First of all, the format is great. Tons of full-color photos and precise descriptions of the pictured specimens, including which areas of North America they normally occur in and when the organism existed (or exists) in geological time. Also lists similar fossils that are sometimes mistaken for or confused with the one illustrated. Second, this book focuses specifically on North American fossils, which means that you get more concise information. Many other fossil guides attempt to cover fossils of the world in the same size book (or smaller), which is doubtless a very ambitious project, but probably impossible to do successfully in the form of a fieldguide. So with the National Audobon guide, you get more pertinent information. Granted, not everyone is looking for an American-specific guide. But if you want information on, say, European or Morrocan fossils, the same concept applies: Purchasing a more specific guide gives you more specific information for your money. Third, the photos in this guide look like fossils as they occur in nature (as opposed to some fossil guides picturing specimens that have been prepped and polished and perfectly repaired). This is an obvious advantage when trying to identify a specimen that you have just brushed the soil off of. (In fact, most "serious" paleontologists recommend that the natural condition of a fossil be altered as little as possible.) Fourth, the book diagrams and labels the different parts of the major fossil types. So by studying the diagrams, one can learn the paleontological names for the parts. I will say that the book focuses mainly on invertebrate fossils, so if you're interested specifically in vertebrate paleontology this would not be the book for you. But again: Purchasing a more specific guide gives you more specific information for your money. In conclusion, I very highly recommend this book to someone that is interested in identifying and learning more about invertebrate fossils. I have yet to find a guide that tops it!

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American fossils was the first and best book on fossils I ever purchased. The pictures and maps have helped me may times to find locations to dig for fossils. Hundreds of beautiful drawings and complete descriptions help to identify the fossils you find. Highly recommended.