| This study of extraterrestrial materials describes the nature of meteorites, where they come from, and how they get to Earth. Meteorites offer insights into processes in stars and in interstellar regions, the birth of our solar system, the formation and evolution of planets and smaller bodies, and the origin of life. The first edition was immensely popular with meteorite collectors, scientists and science students in many fields, and amateur astronomers. In this edition, all of the illustrations have been updated and improved, many sections have been expanded and modified based on discoveries in the last decade, and a new final chapter on the importance of meteorites has been added. |
| "...a detailed and extremely comprehensive introduction to the subject of meteoritics. The book discusses the nature of meteorites beginning with the reasons for suspecting their origin as extraterrestrial, through their different classifications, chemical compositions, geological histories, and what information meteorites carry regarding their parent bodies....McSween's fascination with meteorites and his enchanting style of writing contribute to the enjoyment of reading his book." Meteoritics & Planetary Science"...the book gives a very readable account of these interesting extraterrestrial rocks. I recommend the book as an excellent introduction to meteoritics for those Earth Scientists who have an interest in but not a specialist knowledge of the subject." Geological Magazine"A pleasure to read, very personal and narrative, but most importantly, it is correct: no oversimplification, no omission of hard-to-describe facts like ages, isotopic and chemical peculiarities or nucleosynthesis. The author has to be congratulated; the book is highly recommended." Space Science Review"An illuminating introduction to the science of meteoritics, Meteorites and Their Parent Planets demonstrates what these visitors from space can tell us about the birth and infancy of our solar system." Astronomy Book Club"Cambridge University Press offers the public, and those familiar with basic astronomy, an outstanding introduction to nearly everything currently known about meteorites." Planetarian' ... a very interesting read and is a welcome addition to my bookshelf ... generally the text is explanatory and written so that someone with a general interest can follow it quite easily. On the other hand, there seems to be sufficient technical backup to make the book a useful reference tool for those a little more experienced in the subject ... All in all a very good interesting book, particularly for pure geologists. It would, I think be of general interest to all Geoscientists.'Geoscientist' ... an excellent intorduction to meteoritics for those Earth Scientists who have an interest in but not a specialist knowledge of the subject.'Allan Pring, Geological Magazine' ⊠a very interesting read and is a welcome addition to my bookshelf ⊠generally the text is explanatory and written so that someone with a general interest can follow it quite easily. On the other hand, there seems to be sufficient technical backup to make the book a useful reference tool for those a little more experienced in the subject ⊠All in all a very good interesting book, particularly for pure geologists. It would, I think be of general interest to all Geoscientists.' Geoscientist' ⊠an excellent intorduction to meteoritics for those Earth Scientists who have an interest in but not a specialist knowledge of the subject.' Allan Pring, Geological Magazine' … a very interesting read and is a welcome addition to my bookshelf … generally the text is explanatory and written so that someone with a general interest can follow it quite easily. On the other hand, there seems to be sufficient technical backup to make the book a useful reference tool for those a little more experienced in the subject … All in all a very good interesting book, particularly for pure geologists. It would, I think be of general interest to all Geoscientists.' Geoscientist' … an excellent intorduction to meteoritics for those Earth Scientists who have an interest in but not a specialist knowledge of the subject.' Allan Pring, Geological Magazine'Harry McSween's writing is accessible to scientists and non-scientists alike ⊠the book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the origin and evolution of the Solar System.' R. L. S. Taylor, Spaceflight'Meteorites and Their Parent Planets provides an engrossing overview of a highly interdisciplinary field - the study of extraterrestrial materials. The second edition of this successful book has been thoroughly revised, and describes the nature of meteorites, where they come from, and how they get to Earth ⊠Harry McSween's writing is accessible to scientists and non-scientists alike ⊠This book gives the reader a clear understanding of the fundamentals of a complex subject. The softback is good value and the book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the origin and evolution of the Solar System.' R. L. S. Taylor, Spaceflight'The first edition provided one of the initial sparks to my interest in meteorites, and this new book is no less inspiring. This book is up to date, broad in focus, and confidently written by an author with a deep understanding of his subject. It is a must for the bookshelf of every planetary scientist, as well as being of interest to students and scientists from other disciplines. The easy writing style would also make it an enjoyable read for an interested amateur or bright teenager.' Sara Russell, The Observatory
a very interesting read and is a welcome addition to my bookshelf
generally the text is explanatory and written so that someone with a general interest can follow it quite easily. On the other hand, there seems to be sufficient technical backup to make the book a useful reference tool for those a little more experienced in the subject
All in all a very good interesting book, particularly for pure geologists. It would, I think be of general interest to all Geoscientists.Geoscientist
an excellent intorduction to meteoritics for those Earth Scientists who have an interest in but not a specialist knowledge of the subject.Allan Pring, Geological Magazine� � a very interesting read and is a welcome addition to my bookshelf � generally the text is explanatory and written so that someone with a general interest can follow it quite easily. On the other hand, there seems to be sufficient technical backup to make the book a useful reference tool for those a little more experienced in the subject � All in all a very good interesting book, particularly for pure geologists. It would, I think be of general interest to all Geoscientists.�Geoscientist� � an excellent intorduction to meteoritics for those Earth Scientists who have an interest in but not a specialist knowledge of the subject.�Allan Pring, Geological Magazine�Harry McSween�s writing is accessible to scientists and non-scientists alike � the book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the origin and evolution of the Solar System.�R. L. S. Taylor, Spaceflight�Meteorites and Their Parent Planets provides an engrossing overview of a highly interdisciplinary field - the study of extraterrestrial materials. The second edition of this successful book has been thoroughly revised, and describes the nature of meteorites, where they come from, and how they get to Earth � Harry McSween�s writing is accessible to scientists and non-scientists alike � This book gives the reader a clear understanding of the fundamentals of a complex subject. The softback is good value and the book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the origin and evolution of the Solar System.�R. L. S. Taylor, Spaceflight�The first edition provided one of the initial sparks to my interest in meteorites, and this new book is no less inspiring. This book is up to date, broad in focus, and confidently written by an author with a deep understanding of his subject. It is a must for the bookshelf of every planetary scientist, as well as being of interest to students and scientists from other disciplines. The easy writing style would also make it an enjoyable read for an interested amateur or bright teenager.�Sara Russell, The Observatory |