Remarks by JVS. Volumes 1 and 2 of Feldspar Minerals were published in 1974, but Volume 3 was not completed because I was forced to devote 3 years to the resolution of unforeseen problems in the construction of an ion probe. By 1977, the incomplete draft for Volume 3 had become obsolete because of the enormous advances in knowledge of feldspars, particularly those in lunar rocks and meteorites, and in both deep-seated and ancient terrestrial rocks. Furthermore, it soon became obvious that a completely new version of Feldspar Minerals was needed because of the important new results on the physical and chemical properties. I had kept up with the interesting but tedious chore of weekly reading of the incoming literature and maintenance of the files. By 1980, the intense day-to day pressure had gone from my research programs on lunar rocks and on the development of the ion microprobe as a quantitative geochemical instrument, and I began preparation of a second edition of Feldspar Minerals.

Contents: Preface; About the Photography; Introduction; Alphabetical Listing of Minerals. Completely revised and updated, this includes nearly 4,000 entries. Glossary. 48 pages of color, 45 line drawings, 104 halftones.

Offers an illustrated guide to 260 examples of gems and minerals from the the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Since it was first published in 1962 'Gems' has become universally recognised as the most comprehensive and authoritative treatise on gem materials in the English language.In this sixth edition, chapters, appendices and tables have been revised for relevance to today's practice and include an expanded encyclopedic section.'Gems' caters for the professional jeweller and student gemmologist, collector of gems and those with an insatiable interest in precious stones. NB: The gem testing section has been removed as this is covered extensively in Gemmology 3e *Unique comprehensive source of information on gems *Contributing authors, at the top of the field, bring the latest developments to the reader *The only encyclopedic reference for gemstones

After two volumes mainly introductory, Dr Needham now embarks upon his systematic study of the development of the natural sciences in China. The Sciences of the Earth follow: geography and cartography, geology, seismology and mineralogy. Dr Needham distinguishes parallel traditions of scientific cartography and religious cosmography in East and West, discussing orbocentric wheel-maps, the origins of the rectangular grid system, sailing charts and relief maps, Chinese survey methods, and the impact of Renaissance cartography on the East. Finally-and here Dr Needham's work has no Western predecessors-there are full accounts of the Chinese contribution to geology and mineralogy.