Earth Materials: Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology is an extraordinary textbook which makes the fields of mineralogy and petrology approachable for new students.

What does this book cover?

Earth Materials: Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology is visually stunning, using techniques like thin section mineral photography, illustrations, and online access to CrystalViewer 3D imagery. The text is approachable and concise, and easy for students with no prior experience in petrology or minerology to understand. It is perfect for single semester courses, and has been extensively revised based on actual classroom performance.

New features for this updated edition of Earth Materials: Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology include:

• A chapter introducing the core concepts of absolute dating, radioactive decay, kinetics and thermodynamics
• Full colour photographs and descriptions of additional minerals
• New content on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and its environmental effects

About the Author 

Anthony R. Philpotts is the University of Connecticut’s Emeritus Professor of Geology and Geophysics. He is also a Visiting Fellow at Yale University’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. Dr Cornelius Klein is the University of New Mexico’s Emeritus Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He has taught at Harvard and Bloomington Universities.

Earth Materials: Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology combines beautiful, large format imagery with clear explanations of the structure of rocks and minerals.