Amber: Window to the Past

Illustrates the natural history of amber and its historical uses in art and sculpture with photographs and descriptive text

This beautifully illustrated book will be popular among naturalists and artists alike. Grimaldi, chair of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Entomology, has skillfully combined the natural history of amber with coverage of its uses throughout history in art and sculpture. He discusses the properties of various types of amber, its most common localities, the types of life it typically preserves, and examples of past forgeries. Grimaldi's discussion of objects made of amber, from pipe stems to wall murals, range from the Mesolithic era to the 19th century and include all parts of the world. Among the book's greatest strengths are the copious and outstanding photographs and illustrations of specimens and objets d'art with accompanying descriptive notes. A wide-ranging treatise that will appeal to everyone from lay readers to specialists; highly recommended.?Jeanne Davidson, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Every semiprecious jewel needs a major motion picture to increase its audience appeal. Five years ago, a book on amber could guarantee an audience--perhaps--only of Lithuanian ladies of a certain age. But after Jurassic Park, is there an American who doesn't know about the miracles of long ago that are encapsulated in petrified resin? This lavish book captures both the beauty and the strangeness of amber: the beauty, in glorious, honey-toned color images of some of the world's most exquisite amber artifacts; the strangeness, in close-ups of leaf fragments, tiny feathers, or whole bees buried among bubbles of ancient air. The text, meanwhile, is solid and comprehensive; the rest of the illustrations, including at least as many black-and-white historical and documentary plates as there are colorplates, excellent. Patricia Monaghan