2 comments about The Art of Diamond Cutting Second Edition.

1. I have read many books on diamond cutting but this is truly the best of all.To become a complete diamond cutter one must read this book.



2. I have been faceting colored stones for a few years and am hoping to start cutting diamonds. The editorial description of the book sounded great "... all you need to know about polishing and production of the popular round brilliant diamond." The book's introduction also looked great and I was excited. I read the book, got to the end, and figured that I must have missed something - so I read it again.
   
   The critical information that is missing from this book is information about equipment. Diamond cutting is an equipment intensive hobby (that is really part of the fun) and is the limiting factor when getting started. I am no closer to knowing what equipment I need, and that is the information that I need to get started in this hobby.
   
   There is a book with a similar title "Diamond Cutting by Basil Watermeyer," ISBN 0 629 30756, that I found online for around $75. This 400 page book far better suited my needs and contained all of the information that I was looking for.

2 comments about Introduction to X-Ray Powder Diffractometry.

1. This book provides an introduction to powder diffraction theory as well as a comprehensive list of everything involved with the actual diffractometer. This is not just a theory book nor a technical manual. It describes clearly all the factors involved in the production of x-rays, the workings of motors and detectors to the reasons for using divergence slits as well as the principles of phase identification and quantitative analysis. It is a great book for someone who will be using a diffractometer for the first time and will be doing the work themselves. This is not a crystallography text. It is more a handbook of practical applied powder diffraction. Well worth the money.



2. I would suggest reading this book if you want to learn about powder XRD technique. This book is really good...

No comments about Electron Crystallography of Biological Macromolecules.

5 comments about The National Gem Collection.

1. If you have visited the National Collection and want a souvenir to remind you of the stunning array of unique World Class Gems then this is the book for you. Both the format of the book and the superlative quality of the photography make this book the next best thing to being in the exhibition hall. There is a fairly light weight coverage of the gemmology in the text, but it mostly focusses on the history and ownership of these fabulous gems. The National Collection is unique, no where else in the world is there such a concentration of fabulous jewels with such an interesting history, with the possible exception of the British Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. This book is a fitting celebration of such a marvellous collection.



2. This is a beautiful book with lots of interesting information on the gem collection.



3. "The National Gem Collection," by Jeffrey E. Post, features photographs by Chip Clark. The book is a beautiful celebration of the title collection, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The informative text discusses the history of the collection, facts about types of different gemstones, and specific pieces in the collection.

   The full-color photography is really stunning, and brings a rich assortment of gems to glorious life. Some of the historic pieces pictured are the blue Hope Diamond, the diamond Napoleon Necklace, the Hooker Emerald, and more. Also shown are a colorful collection of "fancy" diamonds, a rare red diamond, the 858-carat uncut Gachala Emerald, the delightful "pink tutu" (a band of dainty rose quartz crystals on a large smoky quartz crystal), a dazzling group of fire opals, a lapis lazuli carving from Afghanistan, and more.

   I appreciate how the book celebrates gemstones at various stages: uncut, cut, and set in artfully crafted pieces of jewelry. Many different types of gemstones--aquamarine, garnet, spinel, chrysoberyl, turquoise, etc.--are covered. Features such as a scanning electron microscope photo of the inner structure of an opal give the reader a deeper understanding of the science behind gems. From start to finish, this book is a marvelous feast for both the eyes and the brain.




4. This review is for the paperback version of the book, which I loved. It has a lovely balance of terrific photos & explanations of the various sources of the featured gems. It serves as a nice beginning reference when you have heard the terms sapphire & red sapphire (huh? I thought red gems were rubys or spinels) and would like to know more about which gems are related to others.
   
   And did I say the photos are just wonderful? Enjoy!



5. Excellent information on the history of gemstones, understanding color and cuts. Exquisite examples, beautifully photographed. A must for anyone interested in gemstones or the history of jewelry.

1 comments about Dorothy Hodgkin: A Life.

1. This amazing biography of crystallographer is even more interesting because it is the author's first book. Despite being a non-scientist, Ferry does a superb job of exploring the life of her subject. It is a joy to read, treating with equal respect Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin's personal and scientific life. The central role of crystallography (with excursions into biology, chemistry, and physics) is not minimized, but it would be easily understandable to the non-scientific reader. Besides being a woman scientist in Great Britain at a time when women were not even eligible for college-level degrees at some schools, Dorothy was a successful wife and mother, raising several children almost alone while her husband worked in faraway places. But rather than concentrate on the difficulties, Dorothy put all her efforts into pursuing science, and thus she became fantastically successful, eventually winning the Nobel Prize for her work on the structures of Vitamin B12 and penicillin. Everyone in her field respected her, no one suggested her proper place was anywhere else, and so she avoided many of the pitfalls women in science often face. As long as she lived, Dorothy worked for what she believed in, whether it was solving the structures of complicated bio-active molecules, peace, or international communication. She built friendships all over the world, and used her fame and personality to help people. This book will make you a Dorothy Hodgkin fan, which is a tribute to both the subject's worthiness and the author's skill.

2 comments about Vogel's Qualitative Inorganic Analysis (7th Edition).

1. A good practical guide for students doing undergraduate inorganic experiments. Description of techniques are clear and comprehensive which makes it useful for a laboratory reference.



2. Vogel's book is the Bible of analytical chemists. Vogel has compiled all the most common analytical procedures and results into an easily followed book that is both treasured and guarded by chemistry teachers in the country. The best gift any chemist could hope to receive.

2 comments about Thermodynamics of Crystals.

1. I found this is a very good reference for my beginning in studying of lattice dynamics and thermodynamics of crystals. It provides the theory framework for the equilibrium thermodynamics properties of perfect crystals. To me, this book is very helpful to understand the theory in physics of solid state. It starts with the basic theories of thermodynamics, such as, thermodynamics functions, state variables, wave propagation, etc.. Then it moves to crystal potentials (and their expansions about the equilibrium configuration, the stability and symmetries. etc), to crystal vibration problems(eigenvalue problems and operator theories for Hamiltonian system), and to the advance topic of phonon thermodynamics, band-structure theory, and pseudopotential perturbation theory. Finally, it provides the model calculation and experimental data analysis. All materials are treated gradually from simple to complicated (I means mathematically) Graduate level knowledge in mathematics is necessary to read this book. Allover, I think this is a very good reference.



2. this is the best reference book i have found on this topic. everything you could reasonably expect is spelled out in it explicitly. highly recommended.

1 comments about Synthesis and Technique in Inorganic Chemistry: A Laboratory Manual.

1. A course on inorganic synthesis and reactions should involve the preparation of inorganic compounds using vacuum line, air- and moisture-exclusion, electrochemical, high-pressure and other synthetic techniques. It should investigate the kinetic and mechanistic studies of inorganic compounds.

   "Synthesis and Techniques in Inorganic Chemistry" simply fulfills all the above purposes. While undergraduate chemistry usually doesn't focus on inorganic laboratory, text written with this much details is a rarity.

   With 23 experiments and an appendix on techniques, this lab text covers cutting-edge research type of experiments on superconductivity, molecular sieve zeolite-X and buckminsterfullerene (C60). Organometallics is also covered with experiments on organoiron and metal carbonyl cluster. The classical coordination compounds synthesis and mechanism and vacuum line synthesis can also be found in this text.

   Students can pace and select experiments from all major topic areas over the course of one semester. This is a great resource and reference for modifying existing experiments and shaping up lab techniques.

4 comments about The Biological Chemistry of the Elements: The Inorganic Chemistry of Life.

1. If you are a biochemist working on an enzyme with inorganic cofactors or an inorganic chemist with an interest in biochemistry, you'll like this book. As chemistry texts go, it's really readable, with great figures and diagrams. The authors cover chemical speciation, the possible role of evolution in cofactor incorporation, and give lots of useful references. The only down side is that this is not a book for someone with little or no background in chemistry.



2. I'm a fourth year going next year to grad school in bioinorganic chemistry. This is the kind of book I wanted to have as reference for a long time. It covers the biological chemistry of each element, explaining why different metals are used in different systems. It is the first book that I found in which it is explained why only Co and Ni form organometallic bonds and not the rest of the transition metals. It is true, it is a chemistry book, but that's what I needed. The figures and the language are great, and the references at the end of each chapter are very useful. It is updated (october 2001), something very important in biochemistry. In short, a great reference!



3. Wow, "really readable"? You must be kidding (directed to the reviewer from Wisconsin)! The writing is dreadful - the authors repeat themselves, write 2-page long paragraphs and paragraph-long sentences, contradict themselves, and fail to adequately explain figures. Sure, we all know that scientific writing is dense, but this is truly ridiculous. Where was the editor when this book was being writtten and published? That said, this book is packed with GREAT information that you just don't find anywhere else! It really helps chemists understand how biology uses elements (especially METALS) and is thought-provoking and useful for biologists, biochemists, and geochemists. So, buy this book but don't expect a fun and easy read.



4. The biological Chemistry of the Elements: The Inorganic Chemistry of Life is an excellent text to provide some valuable resources for chemist.

No comments about Problems in Molecular Orbital Theory.