Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes Review

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Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes ReviewCaltech physics professor Kenneth Libbrecht burst into the public's awareness when he wrote the text to the stunning 2003 book "The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty", with photographs by Patricia Rasmussen. Even laypeople now associate his name with pioneering research in the science of snow as well as great snowflake photography. In this "Field Guide to Snowflakes", Libbrecht offers a practical guide to snowflake-watching whose intent is to entice the reader outdoors, magnifier in hand, to observe the exquisite and endlessly fascinating "Lilliputian world of snowflakes". He tells us just how to do that, how to decipher a snow crystal's history, and provides a method of classification that will help snowflake-watchers understand what they see.
In the first part of the guide, "Understanding Snowflakes", we learn how snowflakes are created by selectively augmenting ice crystals as they tumble through the clouds. Libbrecht explains the conditions that produce some of snowflakes' characteristics, such as symmetry, crystal faceting, branching, ridges, rims, ribs, and sublimation. And he introduces us to 35 snowflake classifications that he will explain in detail in Part 2. These are fewer than the traditional snow crystal classification system. Libbrecht has chosen to organize snow crystals according to their growth mechanisms for the purpose of this book. This seems to be a practical approach that allows the lay person insight into both the forms of snowflakes and their causes without burdening us with too many abstruse classifications.
Part 2 is the heart of the "Field Guide". Libbrecht's classifications are addressed in detail, with examples and explanations of what conditions produce them and why. Libbrecht's prose is always clear and fluid. His enthusiasm for the beauty and mysteries of snow crystals is evident on every page, so the text is never dry. Forty-four full-page "Case Studies" are placed throughout the book, each with a large photograph and a lively analysis of that snow crystal, so we can see exactly what we should be looking for. The explanations of classifications are also found in Chapter 7 of "The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty", though here they are presented in a form that more easily lends itself to field use. The case studies are new to this book and are worth the price.
The final section of "Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes" offers advice on how to observe the miniature marvels that looked so fascinating on the preceding pages. Libbrecht presents a choice of magnifiers that will do the job and describes the components of his set-up for photographing snowflakes, including advice on lighting and how to find good specimens. You may want more info if you plan to try your hand at microphotography, but this will give you an idea of what you need and how much it is likely to cost. For more details, see Libbrecht's web site www.snowcrystals(dot)com. The "Field Guide" is a hardcover book 5 ½ x 8 1/4 x ½ inches. It doesn't have a dust jacket; the cover art is printed onto the cover, which is attractive and seems pretty durable. I don't know if you would want to take this book out in a snowstorm, but it is a convenient size for reference.Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes OverviewSnowflakes are temporary works of art, tiny crystalline masterpieces, each as different from the next as one person is from another. If you would like to look closer at these marvelous creations - and understand their patterns - this handy, pocket-sized book will serve as your introduction to the art and science of the snowflake. As entertaining as it is informative, this comprehensive field guide describes the many different types of snowflakes, where and how to find them, and what can be learned from their intricate structures and patterns. Also included are handy tips for intrepid snowflake hunters, including what type of snowflakes to expect during certain weather conditions, opportune ways for capturing them (the author prefers the brightly-lit tops of parking garages at night, for example). Illustrated with Libbrecht's own remarkable microphotographs of real snowflakes, the book is itself a work of art, as delightful to look at as it is to learn from, and as full of wonder as it is rich with answers. An excellent guide for snowflake lovers, classrooms, family fun, as well as the serious or amateur scientist.

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