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Minerals of the World

Posted on: Thursday, 30 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Bynum, Gretchen Luepke

Minerals of the World by Ole Johnsen. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. 2002; 439 pages; $29.95 (softbound), $49.00 (hardbound).

Minerals of the World, originally published in Denmark, is the latest publication in the Princeton Field Guide Series. According to the preface, it "aims to provide a comprehensive treatment of minerals." In 439 pages, that is a daunting task, but one that Ole Johnsen manages to accomplish in an outstanding manner.

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 covers "Mineralogy and Crystallography." The mineralogy section (four pages) discusses what a mineral is, a subject not quite as simple as it might appear, and the crystallography section describes the six crystallographic systems, the formation and growth of crystals, and their geometric, physical, chemical, and optical properties. The illustrations of the crystal structures are clear and sharp and consist of both diagrams and photographs. The chemical properties section gives a succinct discussion of the various chemical bonds; the optical properties section is more cursory, confined almost entirely to a definition of terms.

Part 2. "Mineral Descriptions." is the heart of the book. Of the 616 figures, most are photographs of minerals or rocks; the rest are crystal diagrams. The photos, with the exception of five from private collections, are of specimens from the mineral collection of the Geological Museum of the University of Copenhagen.

More than 4,000 mineral species are currently known. In this book, 500 are described in detail; of these, 200 are fairly widespread. The common minerals have descriptions of their crystallography, physical and chemical properties, occurrences, uses, and diagnostic features. Less-common species are only briefly described.

Tables appear in part 3. Two tables constitute the section titled "Common Minerals and Their Properties": minerals with metallic luster and those with nonmetallic luster. Also included are the periodic table of elements and a list of symbols and atomic numbers of "selected elements" (i.e., only those elements mentioned in the book). A brief glossary of geologic terms helps the reader understand the discussions of mineral occurrences. There is also an index.

Johnsen, in declaring that the included minerals are his personal choice, cannot be accused of bias because specimens from every continent except Antarctica are represented. Greenland minerals are obviously among his favorites because the number of illustrated specimens from there is exceeded only by the number from the United States. As a lifelong mineral collector, I did not see any illustrated mineral specimen that I consider substandard.

It has been a half-century since the 1953 publication of A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Frederick H. Pough. Like Pough's classic, Johnsen's book is designed for field and home use and is, therefore, no substitute for a comprehensive mineralogy textbook. But with the many minerals and localities discovered since 1953, Minerals of the World is poised to become the book of choice for mineral enthusiasts.

Gretchen Luepke Bynum

U.S. Geological Survey (retired)

Fremont, California

Copyright Heldref Publications Mar/Apr 2006

Source: Rocks and Minerals

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