This student-oriented text is written in a casual, jargon-free style to present a modern introduction to mineralogy. It emphasizes real-world applications and the history and human side of mineralogy. This book approaches the subject by explaining the larger, understandable topics first, and then explaining why the “little things” are important for understanding the larger picture.

The book will be beneficial for: * The undergraduate course in mineralogy, crystallography, petrology & economic geology. * Post graduate students for their economic geology course. * Useful as a ready reckoner for competitive examinations and job interviews and entrepreneurs in mineral industry. * Civil Engineering students will also find this book suitable for their basic courses in mineralogy-petrology. * the text, as far as possible is precise, concise and up-to-date in facts and figures, adequately illustrated and includes photographs and micro-photographs.

“With poetic prose, lyrical descriptions, and sensory details . . . this story dives into the Gulf Coast culture of pecan orchards and debutante balls, exposing layers of family secrets and sins. In the end comes redemption, grace, forgiveness, and faith. Bravo!” —Julie Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author Wealth and etiquette can hide a lot of things in the South, as the esteemed Harlan family of sleepy Bay Spring, Alabama, knows. But behind the gentle facade of white pillared porches and acres of cultivated pecan orchards, family secrets smolder. Young Anniston Harlan cares little for high society and the rigid rules and expectations of her grandmother, Princella. She finds solace working the orchards alongside her father and grandfather, and relief in the cool waters of Mobile Bay. Anniston’s aunt, Comfort Harlan, has never quite lived up to the family name, or so her mother Princella’s ever-apparent scowl implies. When she gleefully accepts the proposal of her longtime boyfriend, Solly, a flood tide of tragedy ensues that strips Comfort of her innocence and unleashes generations of family secrets, changing the Harlan family forever. While Comfort struggles to recover, Anniston discovers an unlikely new friend from the seedy part of town who helps her try to make sense of the chaos. Together, they and the whole town of Bay Spring discover how true love is a risk, but one worth taking.

This text assumes no prior knowledge of geology and provides an introduction to the science and the place of geology in the world we live in. It covers of all aspects of geology, starting with a broad view of the Earth as a planet, and developing all the major themes of contemporary geology.