Amber: The Natural Time Capsule

This is an excellent guide to amber, which is a natural time capsule as the cover says. It preserves insects in all their intricacy and shows insects we can label today. Included are tests for fake amber, how and why amber is formed by trees and the problem of fake amber. As to dating, the author admits that “Amber can only be dated based on fossils in the associated sediments, as there is no way of knowing how longing the amber took to become deposited.” (p. 20) The oldest known amber dates back to the early cretaceous, about 140 million years ago. What has always amazed me is all the samples studied so far show the insects in amber are, as far as we can tell, identical to those living today. 140 million years and no evidence of evolution! That a long time to not change.

This is only a small book of 73 pages. It gives you a concise and well written account of how amber was formed and where in the world it is found. The Baltic area is one of the more prolific locations, but it is also found in places like Dominica and Burma. It also provides information on fakes and how to test amber, with practical instructions on how to do so.The book is full of beautiful, clear photographs. However the emphasis is heavily on amber inclusions such as insect and plant life. If you have amber and you want to identify the insect/plant in it, then this is the book you want. It's overall content has obviously been heavily influenced by the movie "Jurassic Park".However, despite these good points it does have some significant weakness'. It gives little information on the colour ranges available in amber. Some sort of colour chart would have been useful. It also does not supply information on the care and storage of amber.In short, this book is a great introduction to amber and it's inclusions, but does not extend beyond that into amber artwork or some practical areas of amber ownership/maintance.

What a delight to find a relatively short, concise book on the subject of amber. The book contains "scientific" terms for those who are interested in such things and yet is well-written and easy to understand for those who may simply want to know how to identify real or fake ambers. Beautiful close-up photos with identifying text are abundant. As a geologist and former teacher of young students, I found this book a true treasure-find!

This is an esoteric subject, and few have a book such as this. For those who have questions on how the bugs get in there? This is the book that tells you. My husband thought it was a great snow storm read, and reference book. A real keeper!

A very interesting book for the beginner. Helpful and a good reference book. Also, the pictures were very helpful in defining amber.

I gave this book as a gift for a person who collects Amber stones. The book is historically accurate and you will learn alot.

Awesome book with a lot of good info!

Ever think you'd read a book written by a paleobotanist curator of fossil arthropods? Well, if you are interested in amber-- especially amber with insect inclusions-- this might be the book. Amber, the fossilized resin from ancient trees, is extremely popular for making jewelry. Some of the most fascinating examples contain tiny insects that became trapped in the resin eons ago and are now preserved in the transparent amber. The author has really written two books in one. The first sections give us a very readable introduction to amber: what it is, where it is found, and how it relates to its younger cousin, copal. As a valuable material, one of the earliest to be used for adornment, amber has its share of imitation and fakery. The author outlines several tests for telling real amber from fake and for detecting fabricated insect inclusions. The remaining two-thirds of the book is a detailed examination of the ancient inclusions sometimes found in amber: insects, spiders, arthropods, plant debris, and more. In reading this section closely you will absorb a mini-course in entomology and taxonomy as you learn to identify just what bug is staring back at you from inside the amber. Or, you can simply enjoy the fascinating high-magnification photomicrographs of insects trapped in amber. DNA was first recovered from inside amber in 1992, and the author discusses whether or not a real-life Jurassic Park is possible. (The short answer: no.) Aside from its decorative uses in jewelry, amber with inclusions is valuable to scientists studying ancient ecology, diversity, evolution, and extinction. Despite the wealth of scientific information in this book, the writing is clear, concise and accessible to the general reader. Those looking for a first book on amber may want to start with Nancy Hopp's Amber: Jewelry, Art, and Science. But for readers interested in amber with inclusions, Ross's book must definitely come next.

Recieved. Great book. Still reading it. Very informative. Many thanks.

Good reference book, interesting with many excellent pictures and diagrams. Good seller.

A good comprehensive guide on all that is Amber, a time capsule of Amber captured in a brilliant book.

I collect a lot of Amber a so this book was a great read

Excellent copy at excellent price with very swift posting