The mineral kingdom

The author, once a curator at the Smithsonian Institution, guides a tour through the world of minerals: Chapters (and the reviewer's comments) Introduction 1. Myth, Fancy, and Fact (history of minerals & mineralogy) 2. Flowers of the Kingdom (crystals, their lore, forms, and beauty) 3. Gemstones, the Royal Line (how found, cut, & why) 4. Wonders of the Kingdom (phenomena, such as color, transparency, optical effects, oddities, and meteorites) 5. In Search of Treasure: Classic Sites (history and lore of where they come from, and how mined) 6. Mineral Masterpieces (exceptional specimesn preserved in museums, exceptional photographs) 7. The Science and Its Framework (the fascinating world of mineralogy, geology, including mapping, study, testing, properties, and societies) 8. Minerals at Work (vital to our daily way of life, minerals are used in almost every field) 9. The Hobby ("The amateur mineralogist may, if he cares to, achieve near-professional expertise" - Hurlbut) 10. The Connoisseur (the esthetics of collecting) Complete with illustrations on nearly every page (7 out of 8 pages have illustrations, many of these in color), this review cannot do this book justive. This book is for the enthusiast who would like a leisurely tour through the museum of the world of minerals. This is cheaper than traveling to the museum at Washington, DC, and can be viewed again and again. Get this book, read and enjoy.