Complete Illustrated Guide to Rocks of the World

This title includes expert analysis of the key rock-forming environments of the world, plus full advice on identifying rock types and building a spectacular collection. It features more than 375 beautifully shot photographs and concise artworks. It categorizes rocks in family groups according to their composition, to enable the reader to gauge shared characteristics and distinguish between similar types. It explains how rocks form and the geological processes at work in the environment, including mountain-building, volcanic activity, plate tectonics and metamorphism. Simple identification techniques let amateurs classify rocks by quick and easy tests and comparisons. This is the ultimate photographic guide to all types of rock, an essential reference book for even the most experienced geologist, with many tips on sourcing rocks in the field and identifying collected specimens. The first part of the book will give amateurs and enthusiasts a thorough grounding in how rocks are made. The second part is a photographic directory of 150 different rocks, grouped by major categories and composition. It covers such ancient rocks as greenstone, rare rocks like eclogite, pegmatites - prized for their beauty - and much more. Practical information and checklists to aid classification make this the perfect fieldbook.

John Farndon studied Earth science at Cambridge University, UK. He has written widely on science subjects and was shortlisted three times for the Copus Science Book Prize, for books such as How the Earth Works (Dorling Kindersley) and The Book of the Brain (Hodder). His speciality remains Earth science and he is the author of the Dictionary of the Earth (Dorling Kindersley), Rocks and Crystals (Sterling), Rocks and Minerals (Benchmark Books) and e-Guides Rock and Mineral (Dorling Kindersley).