[meteorite-list] New book on the history of meteoritics

From: Jörn Koblitz <koblitz_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Aug 29 04:55:09 2006
Message-ID: <492FFD0696089A4CB72BDBDCB2FC1A14021E7C_at_server2000>

Hello List Members,

There is a brand new book published by the Geological Society of London. Details can be found on the Society's homepage:

http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/template.cfm?name=bookshop_details&action=details&id=725

I have just received my copy and can warmly recommend it to those interested in the history of meteoritics and museum collections. Especially the chaper by Ursula Marvin (the prominent expert on the history of meteoritics) is very readable.
There is one little drawback: with PST 95.00 the list price is quite high. I could obtain my copy at the Z?rich MetSoc Meeting at a special rate (30% off list price) and there may be a chance also for you to get this rate. I still have the special rate order form and could provide a copy to those seriously interested in this special publication.

Best regards,
J?rn Koblitz


Here the details:

The History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections, edited by G J H McCall, A J Bowden and R J Howarth (July 2006)

This Special Publication has 24 papers with an international authorship, and is prefaced by an introductory overview which presents highlights in the field. The first section covers the acceptance by science of the reality of the falls of rock and metal from the sky, an account that takes the reader from BCE (before common era) to the nineteenth century. The second section details some of the world's most important collections in museums - their origins and development. The Smithsonian chapter also covers the astonishingly numerous finds in the cold desert of Antarctica by American search parties. There are also contributions covering the finds by Japanese parties in the Yamato mountains and the equally remarkable discoveries in the hot deserts of Australia, North Africa, Oman and the USA. The other seven chapters take the reader through the revolution in scientific research on meteoritics in the later part of the twentieth century, including terrestrial impact cratering and extraordinary showers of glass fr
om the sky; tektites, now known to be Earth-impact-sourced. Finally, the short epilogue looks to the future.

The History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections should appeal to historians of science, meteoriticists, geologists, astronomers, curators and the general reader with an interest in science.

Contents:
The history of meteoritics - overview, G J H McCall, A J Bowden and R J Howarth *
Meteorites in history: an overview from the Renaissance to the 20 century, U B Marvin *
The meteorite fall at l'Aigle and the Biot report: exploring the cradle of meteoritics, M Gounelle *
The end of classical meteorology, c. 1800, V Jankovic *
Understanding the nature of meteorites: the experimental work of Gabriel-Auguste Daubr?e, R J Howarth *
History of the meteorite collection of the Natural History Museum of Vienna, F Brandst?tter *
History of the meteorite collection at the Museum f?r Naturkunde, Berlin, A Greshake *
A history of the meteorite collection at the Natural History Museum, London, S Russell and M M Grady *
The meteorite collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, C L V Caillet Komorowski *
A brief history of the Vatican meteorite collection, G Consolmagno *
History of the meteorite collection of the Russian Academy of Sciences, M A Ivanova and M A Nazarov *
Meteorites and the Smithsonian Institution, R S Clarke, H Plotkin and T J McCoy *
History of the American Museum of Natural History meteorite collection, D S Ebel *
The history of Japanese Antarctic meteorites, H Kojima *
The Western Australian Museum meteorite collection, A W R Bevan *
Desert meteorites: a history, A W R Bevan *
Chondrules and calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs), G J H McCall *
The history of meteorite age determinations, J R de Laeter *
Meteorite provenance and the asteroid connection, A J Bowden *
The history of research on meteorites from Mars, M M Grady *
Metorites and the origin of the solar system, S G Brush *
Meteorite cratering: Hooke, Gilbert, Barringer and beyond, G J H McCall *
The history of tektites, G J H McCall *
Epilogue, G J H McCall, A J Bowden, J A Wood and U B Marvin
Received on Tue 29 Aug 2006 04:56:16 AM PDT