Only available secondhand!
 The most diverse mineral on Earth
 No other mineral exhibits so many different crystal forms and combinations. Using only a few basic shapes, calcite has developed a magical crystalline world that amazes collectors and crystallographers worldwide. The pseudomorphs and the unique calcite twins are particularly prized.
 The birth of modern mineralogy
 Calcite exhibits certain physical properties so exceptionally clearly that it has become practically a symbol of them: cleavage, fluorescence, and birefringence. Two hundred years ago, cleavage was even the subject of significant scientific debate. Indeed, it is said that the solution to this problem marked the birth of modern mineralogy.
 The best locations in the world
 A whole host of calcite experts have weighed in: Where do the world's most beautiful calcites come from? It's not easy to pinpoint the "top ten": Many thousands of locations have yielded magnificent calcite specimens. And the "youngest" among them seems to be outshining all the others!

 Contents:
 Two modifications of CaCO3: Differences and similarities between calcite and aragonite/Calcite (calcspar) and its relatives (Rupert Hochleitner)/Calcite: the most diverse mineral/More widespread than pyrite!/calx • Lime • Calcspar • Calcite/Calcites like to lie: Pseudomorphs of calcite/Cumberland, or: The land of the legendary calcite twins/René Just Haüyn, Cleavage and the birth of modern mineralogy/Luminous calcites and aragonites: Fluorescence and phosphorescence (Werner Lieber)/Perfection in black and white. The interference patterns of Hans Hauswaldt (Ferdinand Damaschun)/Calcspar in the last century. The Collection of Mining Director Max Ph. Geipel, Eisleben (Rupert Hochleitner)/Locations of Calcite: The Top Ten in the World Ranking (Günter Grundmann)/Calcite Crystals in the Amethyst Geodes of Irai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Reinhard Balzer)/H2O, CO2 + Calcite: How a Mineral Shapes the Earth's Surface/Calcite and Aragonite in a Continuous Cycle of Dissolution and Deposition (Paul Rustemeyer)/A Bizarre World of Wonders: Calcite and Aragonite in Caves (Alain Martaud)/Calcite and Carbon Dioxide: The Mediators Between Mineral and Life/Calcite in Lapis

 With cover, 100 pages in lapis format. Published: 1998