You might evaluate our six handbooks based on the following criteria:

Classification: Most guides on Rocks and Minerals organize their listed minerals by chemical class, i.e. Native Elements, Sulfides, Carbonates, etc., the method we prefer as it has more scientific basis.

Organization: Some guides include the photos on their listed minerals immediately next to the corresponding narrative, while others put the photos together in a separate section.  We prefer the former, so we don't have to page back and forth through the book to see all of the data on a single mineral.  This goes directly to the issue of user-friendliness.

Rocks vs Minerals: Five of our six guides include data on rocks, while all are mineral guides.  This is personal preference.  Pure mineral collectors, for instance, may not care about having data on rocks.

Content: This involves a number of things, including general depth of material, the number of minerals described, whether or not mineral locales are listed, existence of identification aids and keys, etc.

Level of Difficulty: Is the guide for a beginner, intermediate, or advanced user?

Click on the links below or the navigation buttons above to review these guides in detail:

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