ok, so i got this w/ another book as one of the deals they offer when you buy this you can get this also for said price.... well, other book kinda sucked but opened this one and really liked it....it does the new age and special healing stuff, but also does the scientific thing! it'll give you the Chemical compisition formula (ex: water = H2O; ozone = O3; etc); also shows you the basic crystal form, gives possible forms and colors it's found, where it's found most often, and even gives you the the Mohs scale of hardness for the rocks/crystals; great one to get...i'd get it w/ The Crystal Bible to have as a more complete reference section for crystals and rocks.... i also got that one, but seperately (not the book i got it w/ in the deal but wish it was! that one was The Illustated Directory of Healing Crystals: Guide to 150 Crystals and GEmstones...that one is not worth it by itself)....
basically: great book to add to your reference section of gemstones and crystals....for whatever reason

I found this book while browsing the B&N discount racks. I told myself that I really didn't NEED another metaphysical gemstone book, but once I started flipping through the pages and saw the spectacular photography and detailed information which includes Moh's hardness*, I had to buy it.

One of the other reviewers that said that some of the photos do not accurately represent all of the variations of a stone. I would agree with this. Looking up Apatite, you will see a gray variety instead of the more common teal blue. Quite honestly, I have yet to find any book on gemstones that does show every variation of a particular stone, and I don't really see a problem with recommending this book to someone new to working with gemstones.

I believe that this book was originally published in Germany, and it seems as though they have listed some fairly interesting specimens that were not immediately known to me such as Orpiment, Heliodor, and Biotite.

It's a great book, so go on and add it to your library - I don't think you will regret it. I find it a great companion to Judy Hall's Crystal Bible.

* Moh's hardness is a scale rating the hardness of a particular gemstone. As a jewelry artisan, this information is helpful in determining how to best utilize a particular stone. A stone with a low Moh's hardness could be easily damaged if made into a bracelet or ring. Stones such as Diamond, Ruby & Sapphire have the highest hardness ratings and are more suited to be worn on the hand/wrist than say, Serpentine or Chrysocolla.

This book has some good information about folklore, crystal systems, and some metaphysical information. There are photographs and suggested uses for every mineral included, although some of the photographs are not characteristic of the species as a whole. This is a good beginner's reference.

As crystal books go, this one has information that many others do not. This book includes physical as well as metaphysical properties, the pictures are beautiful, and the book is well written. It is the second most often used book in my crystal and energy healing practice.