[meteorite-list] Book Review: Marvin Killgore's Book on Thin Sections - Part 2 of 2

From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Oct 14 13:11:29 2005
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000002C00003E00_at_paulinet.de>

Alyssa La Blue kindly wrote:

"I'm happy to see this appear on the meteorite list! I am Marvin Killgore's
assistant and want to make sure that you all know where to locate this book."


Hello Alyssa and List,

Do I have a copy of this book? Of course, I do - autographed and with a special
dedication by Marvin and Kitty! Oh, while we are at it, the reviewer also wrote:

"it rightly does not include iron or stony-iron meteorites."

.. which shouldn't be too much of a problem. If you want to see some excellent
photos of irons, I'd like to direct you to one more of Marvin's and Kitty's books:

=> Southwest Meteorite Collection, A Pictorial Catalog <=

Here you'll find several superb photos of the Killgore's meteorite collection. The
pictures were taken by their son Elijah, and there are also additional pictures
of thin sections and, last but not least, photos of their tektites and impactites.

Best wishes,

Bernd


Now, here is part two of the review of Marvin's book on thin sections:

I suspect that when you first read through this book you will have the same reaction as
we did: you will not be able to put it down. If it is not already apparent, the book is
outstanding, with respect to both the publishing and the quality of its contents.

The book starts with a succinct general introduction to the subject of meteorite classifi-
cation. This section is followed by a two-page introduction to ordinary chondrites with
some 134 pages of micrographs of different ordinary chondrites. The authors stick to a
brief, two-page introduction to each meteorite class and type, which works perfectly for
the purpose of this atlas. After ordinary chondrites, the authors discuss separately ensta-
tite chondrites, carbonaceous chondrites, and finally, other chondrites.

At page 206, the authors leave their completed representation of chondrites and give separate
attention to primitive achondrites and finally evolved achondrites (including SNCs and lunar).
Since this is an atlas of meteorites in thin section, it rightly does not include iron or stony-
iron meteorites. Throughout the book, plain and crossed-polarized light images are shown for
what are or certainly could be considered type specimens of meteorites from each class and type.
In specific cases, reflect light and backscatter electron images are also shown. The book is a
perfect supplement to a course on meteorites or planetary materials, or as a reference book
when examining samples in thin section, either optically or through backscatter electrons.

In closing, the marriage of the two authors, who come to the profession of meteoritics from
two highly different backgrounds, works excellently. They have created a t i m e l e s s
c l a s s i c that will be highly desired by all those interested in meteorites. The book
captures the attention of the reader in a fashion that promotes a child-like curiosity for
the field of meteoritics while maintaining excellence in its scientific content. In a nut-
shell, this is an outstanding book that anyone seriously interested in meteorites must have
for his or her reference library.

(Review by H.C. Connolly, Jr. City University, New York, USA AMNH)
Received on Fri 14 Oct 2005 01:11:26 PM PDT