Within the Stone

This unusual album is filled with full-page close-up color photos of the colors and designs found inside polished rocks and minerals. Printed in an oversize format (11.25-12.25"), the album includes 72 photos of different kinds of stones, culled from a large collection photographed by Atkinson (an early member of the Apple Computer Company, he develops digital printing methods for photography). The photos are juxtaposed with a short text by several authors, who have composed short essays on the stone's photo; some of these discuss the type of stone, others are poetry or personal reflection. An appendix contains detailed descriptions of each type of stone by Si and Ann Frazier, writers for The Lapidary Journal, and Robert Hutchinson. Not indexed. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

'How can the static, the mineral, be so explosively full of motion? Maybe these are chips of the philosopher's stone.' -- Raold Hoffman, Nobel chemist & poet, May 4, 2004