Audubon Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals

by Charles Wesley Chesterman

Paperback, 850 pages

Dimensions (inches): 7.7 x 4.1 x 1.3

Published by Knopf on May 25, 1979 Printed March, 1998  

Publisher’s Synopsis: The first field guide visually organized for quick identification of all important rocks, gems, and mineral types in many variations of color and crystal form. A unique thumb-tab key provides an index to the 794 full-color photographs. Additional identification keys are based on hardness, cleavage, streak, environment, and other characteristics. More than twice as many pages and twice as many color plates as any available rock and mineral guide. Describes 232 minerals.

Our Review:

Popular with many Americans who like the Audubon series in general, and partly justified by its listing of detailed mineral locales in North America, especially.  It lists minerals by chemical classification, offers good crystal descriptions, and includes an identification key.

As for complaints, like the Peterson guide, its photos are in a different section than the associated mineral narrative, requiring the reader to flip back and forth.  So even though it is sized for carrying in a pocket, we find it generally non-user friendly.

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