Product Description

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, and 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 scientist.

Snowflakes 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.

Publisher's note: Congratulations to Ken Libbrecht on the selection of his snowflake microphotographs for the Holiday 2006 US Postal Service line of postage stamps!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19210 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780760326459
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Author Kenneth Libbrecht's microphotographs of real snowflakes show the amazing beauty and science behind nature's creations. This year his photos were honored by the U.S. Postal Service in a set of holiday stamps.

Amazon.com is celebrating the author's work with an exclusive, free holiday snowfall in our store this season, along with a free activity sheet for snowflake fun with the whole family. Click here to open up the virtual snowfall we've created, and forward this page to share the snowfall with friends and family. If there is real snow where you live, print out the activity sheet (in color or black and white) for easy snowflake identification tips and fun for all ages. Be sure to check out Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes to see what types of snow crystals are falling!

In this season we're reminded how special everyone is in our lives--and that we are all one of a kind, just like snowflakes. We hope you enjoy our virtual snowfall and share the fun with all the unique people in your life. Happy holidays to you and yours from Amazon.com!

Pictured here is a beautiful example of a stellar dendrite, the largest and most familiar variety of snowflake. Click on the snowflake to open our virtual snowfall, and consult Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes to see detailed photographs and descriptions of dozens more types of snowflakes, some familiar and some surprising.

Review

From the Back Cover

Customer Reviews

Reason to Weather the Storm: Observe & Appreciate Nature's Icy Masterpieces.
Caltech 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.

Amazing!
I got this book for my husband for Christmas and he loves it. Not only does it have the most amazing photographs of actual snowflakes, but it gives more information than you ever thought to ask about snowflakes. My husband enjoys reading all kinds of field guides, whether it's about birds, trees, etc and this was one of his favorites.

If you are looking for something a little less informational, check out Ken Libbrecht's Little Book of Snowflakes. I gave that one out to teachers and friends and was enjoyed by all. It is more of a small coffeetable book with lots of amazing photographs.

Makes cold weather fun, or at last fascinating
I first saw Libbrecht's work in a recent issue of The American Scientist, and was delighted when my wife gifted me with this charming little book. In language that engages without condescending, Libbrecht explains the formation, symmetry, and growth of these miniature crystalline gems. I had just finished reading the book when we had an early-March snowfall. Armed with my modest digital camera and its macro settings, I was able to not only photograph individual snowflakes, but actually see for myself the changes in snowflake morphology as the termperature and humidity varied during the snowstorm. Later, after proudly sharing my photos with friends, they asked to see the book and were as captivated as I. Even if you don't care to understand the physics of snow, it's likely you'll never look at snow the same way. And it was stimulating to see that "snowflakes" are often capped columns or needles. I can't wait until the next snowfall!