Introduction to Mineralogy 3rd Edition

I am currently in a Mineralogy class and this is the required textbook. So far, it has been a fantastic resource. At first I was very disappointed at its scarcity of pictures (I'm a visual learner) and entirely black and white pages, but I am grateful that the book didn't cost $250, as it most likely would have if the book had been illustrated and printed in color.I am a third of the way through the class and we have basically read most of the book already. It is easy to read, conversational at times. The parts explaining chemistry are easy to understand, especially if you have already taken Gen Chem, which was a pre-req for my class. The mineral indices in the back are really helpful for looking up identification methods (hand sample, properties, optics) and quick references to the cleavage, crystal classifications, etc for common minerals.Honestly, I don't have any complaints about this book. Considering there is a wealth of mineral information available on websites such as [...] or [...], this book has just the right amount of information to learn your stuff without being overwhelmed by the endless amount of learning available in the field of mineralogy.Also, things people don't usually talk about in reviews: this book is about an inch thick, sturdily bound and printed on high stock paper. It will hold up to several semesters in the geology department and it's not so big that you dread taking it to class with you. It's worth buying to keep, new or used, if you're a geology major or a mineralogy enthusiast.

The required mineralogy textbook for my past two semesters has been Klein and Dutrow's Manual of Mineral Science (Manual of Mineralogy). This book was really a waste of time, as the information it contained was so scattered and hard to hunt through. Nesse's Introduction to Mineralogy has been the perfect replacement text. Identifying minerals is a breeze compared to using the other book, and the tables in the back of the book make searching for minerals by optical properties a painless process. The book is organized in a way that makes it easy to skim, or learn from. It begins with the Basics of optics and crystal symmetry and goes on through mineral properties by silicate structure (followed by sulfides, halides, etc.)It will not help you through and igneous or metamorphic petrologic inferences, simply in mineral identification. Since this is why I bought it, I'm giving it 5 stars and recommending it to anyone studying or interested in optical mineralogy.

My sin just loved this book for school.

THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! It its easy to understand, I read some chapters over. I am not a big reader but I needed to pass mineralogy. It helped me more than the newer book and at a FRACTION of the cost!!! BUY THIS BOOK. Information is almost identical. Just different page numbers but you will be able to find where you were at very very easily. The color index in the back of mine was in tact and was actually way better than the one the newer books provided. Just a thought. I loved it. It is the best book I bought all throughout my Geology Major!

A good text for reference purposes.pros:-thick pages make it durable, a plus for a textbook that is likely to become a reference book-lots of info on common minerals for reference-essential mineralogy knowledge is in there...-...the info in the book is on the internet but tends to be very scattered, not much mineralogy on wikipedia unlike biology, chemistry, common core classes, etc. search a few topics in this book and all you get is scholarly research pdf papers.. and you probably won't understand those or find them very useful.-it makes you feel smart to read it and actually understand it... although that can be time-consumingcons:-no color photos, although not really necessary, but the nice cover photo is misleading-NOT an easy reading textbook--info is DENSE and requires multiple readings and supplemental sources to really understand it...not many good supplemental sources out there-there are some essential and difficult concepts that the book just glances over in a paragraph or two, there should be a student guide to flesh out the info, although it would probably need to be many times thicker than the textbook itself...-mineralogy is probably the hardest class on the path to a BS in geology or related majors once you get through chem, calc, and physics.

As a collection manager for a major public U. S. mineral collection I have an extensive mineralogy reference library of my own. Of all the books that I own I keep this volume on my desk for constant reference. This book is not meant for beginning mineral collectors and it assumes a working knowledge of intro chemistry and physics, however it has been of great assistance in answering public inquiries dealing with mineralogy. A super reference, well written and with good illustrations. If you need a colorful text this isn't it, but the facts are there, clearly stated. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this text to the motivated amateur and beginning geology student building a reference library.

An excellent book to take for Mineralogy classes and for people curious and interested in learning about the way some rocks form all over the earth and their variety of complex shapes.