A laboratory manual for introductory courses in optical mineralogy. The illustrations are bandw, but available in color on a video cassette from the author. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A textbook providing a quantitative approach to the petrologic principles of igneous and metamorphic rocks in a new edition.

A concise introduction to the mineralogy and petrology of igneous and metamorphic rocks for all Earth Science students.

Featuring over 250 contributions from more than 100 earth scientists from 18 countries, The Encyclopedia of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology deals with the nature and genesis of igneous rocks that have crystallized from molten magma, and of metamorphic rocks that are the products of re-crystallization associated with increases in temperature and pressure, mainly at considerable depths in the Earth's crust. Entries range from alkaline rocks to zeolite facies - providing information on the mineralogical, chemical and textural characters of rock types, the development of concepts and the present state of knowledge across the spectrum of igneous and metamorphic petrology, together with extensive lists of both commonly used and little used terms and bibliographies.

At a time when 'textural' evidence is regarded as being 'obvious' ( . . . ) it becomes more and more difficult to find illustrations or even descriptions of the arrangements of the various constituents of 'traumatized' rocks. It is helpful in consequence to advise geology students that the study of thin sections is not only concerned with the identification of their mineral content. To do so would mean they could not see the wood for the trees. Accurate identification of the indi vidual minerals that form rocks is fundamental in their description but the analysis of their textures and habits is also essential. Study of textural features enforces constraints upon the inter pretation of the origin and history of a rock. The analysis of micro textures cannot and should never be an aim in itself, out must be sup ported by qualitative and quantitative correlations with theories of petrogenesis. The aim here is to help the reader to bridge the gap between his observations of rocks unqer the microscope and petrogenetic theories. The habits or architectures of crystals in rocks may resemble those studied by metallurgists and glass scientists. Analysis of micro textures is undergoing change engendered by comparisonS between manu factured and hence minerals. This can be seen from the increased number of publications dealing with crystal ~rowth or deformation processes at microscopic scales to which the name of 'nanotectonics' has been applied.