Following on from his successful publication ‘Crystal Mountains: Minerals of the Cairngorms’, Roy Starkey has done it again with his monumental new book ‘Minerals of the English Midlands’. Awesome is an often used word these days, but no other word can describe the content of this book. Within its 426 pages Roy has covered all the bases and if there is a criticism to be made it is that the title does not convey the enormous breadth of information found in the book. This is far more than a book about minerals. The book is profusely illustrated and a non-exhaustive list of some of them give a flavour for the content of the book. These include: mineral specimens, field photos of minerals, maps, geological and other scenery, mineral labels, crystal drawings, decorative stones, field collecting, mines and mine plans, industrial landscapes, industrial processes, diagrams of mining methods, share certificates, the Barwell meteorite, museum interiors, mineral dealers and their premises, famous mineralogists and mineral shows. In total there are 943 illustrations, broken down into 668 mineral photos and 275 other photos and diagrams. And if writing such a book was not difficult enough, Roy also took many of the photographs and published the book (British Mineralogy Publications).

‘Minerals of the English Midlands’ broadly follows a pattern many enthusiasts of British mineralogy will recognize. A concept first conceived by Embrey and Symes with their groundbreaking ‘Minerals of Cornwall and Devon’. Later works by other authors include ‘Minerals of Caldbeck Fells’, ‘A Mineralogy of Wales’, ‘Minerals of Scotland’, ‘Minerals of Northern England’ and of course ‘Crystal Mountains’.

So where are the English Midlands? Roy defines them to be centred on Birmingham and to include the ‘counties’ of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some authorities would also include Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire, but as these are not specimen-rich locations their omission is of little significance.

After a brief Introduction, the first substantive chapter is ‘Geology’ (8 pages) followed by ‘Mineral Deposits’ (10 pages) and then follow 13 chapters detailing each of the ‘counties’. The book is completed with further chapters on ‘Collectors and Collections’, ‘Mineral Dealers’ and ‘Decorative Stones’. Every chapter is well illustrated and laid out in an engaging way. Roy has deliberately changed the layout from page to page, so the book has an informal feel that makes the reader want to turn the page to find out what is coming next. It is a style that works very well for the varied types of illustration that are included. The book finishes with an exhaustive reference list (1000 entries) and index.

It is not possible to detail all the content in a review like this one, so here are a few personal highlights:

Cheshire (28 pages) – Salt mining in Nantwich including six evocative photos of mines and mining from the Cheshire archives. Alderley Edge copper mines – spheres of azurite found in the pore spaces in sandstone. The Vanadium Story – remarkable photograph of topotype mottramite from Mottram St Andrew.

Derbyshire (88 pages) – Sowerby (1809) illustration of calcite from Dimple Mine. Bonsall Moor photo of former mineral exploitation on the Moor. Matlockite and phosgenite (with labels) from Cromford – Bage Mine in particular. Calcite and galena from Millclose Mine, Darley Dale. Fluorite from Crich Quarry photographed in daylight and under long wavelength ultraviolet light. Calcite cave pearls from the Golconda Mine, Brassington. Baryte, variety ‘oakstone’ from Middleton. Arborescent sprays of yellow calcite from Smalldale Quarry, Bradwell. Blue John fluorite from Treak Cliff, Castleton. Quartz, variety ‘Buxton diamonds’ from the soils south of Buxton.

Gloucestershire (30 pages) – Radiating stalactite of goethite from Easter Mine, Coleford. The celestite industry of Yate – an excellent review of the industry with historic photos and fine specimen photos. Calcite from Hampstead Farm Quarry, Chipping Sodbury. Agate from Crockleys Farm, near Tortworth (8 specimen photos).

Herefordshire (3 pages) – Millerite from Linton Quarry, Gorsley Common.

Leicestershire and Rutland (51 pages) – Spectacular photo of Croft Quarry and an impressive series of specimen photos (analcime, calcite, laumontite, prehnite and pyrolusite). Cuprite, and azurite associated with vésignéite and malachite from New Cliffe Hill Quarry, Stanton under Bardon. Waterworn crystals of galena coated in cerussite from Breedon Quarry, Breedon on the Hill. Earl Ferrers’ Lead Mine and limestone works, Staunton Harold – a historical review with maps, a Sowerby illustration of ‘zincum oxygenatum’ and 27 specimen photos. Gypsum, variety ‘selenite’ from Rutland Water. The Barwell meteorite.

Northamptonshire (11 pages) – Review of the Jurassic Northampton Ironstone with a marvellous aerial photo of the Corby iron and steel works and the story of the ‘Sundew’ walking dragline excavator.

Nottinghamshire (6 pages) – Underground photos of the Marbaeglas Gypsum Mine at East Leake.

Oxfordshire (13 pages) – Archive photo of the Shotover Hill Brickyard, Headington, a location of fine gypsum, variety ‘selenite’, crystals (10 specimens illustrated). Calcite infiling brachipods from Kirtlington Quarry, near Bicester.

Shropshire (36 pages) – Archive photo of Snailbeach mine near Shelve, mine plans, present day photos of the area and beautiful specimens of pink to mauve calcite with striking ultraviolet properties. Snow white baryte from Bog Mine, Wentnor. Pyromorphite from Burgam Mine, near Tankerville. Gemmy baryte from Chirbury. Azurite from Westcott Mine, Pulverbatch. Edingtonite from Squilver Quarry, Moreswood. The Rowton meteorite.

Staffordshire (16 pages) – Geology and history of the Ecton Hill copper mines, including remarkable calcite/chalcopyrite specimens and malachite associated with baryte. Also delicate blue transparent celestine crystals from the same location. Alabaster decorated arch at St Mary's Priory Church in Tutbury. Mineralization associated with the Staffordshire coalfield.

Warwickshire (12 pages) – The long forgotten story of the county's manganese mining industry and the note on ‘varvicite’. Spherical aggregates of crystals of sphalerite from Judkins Quarry, Nuneaton (one of many specimens from Roy's personal collection).

West Midlands (8 pages) – Stunning lustrous, yellow, euhedral tabular crystals of baryte from Dudley Port, Tipton. A review of ironstone mining in the Black Country (centred on Dudley and bounded by Wolverhampton, Walsall, Stourbridge and Halesowen).

Worcestershire (20 pages) – The salt pans of Droitwich as first described in the Domesday Book (completed in 1086). Aerial view of the Stoke Works showing brine reservoirs and pan houses. Remarkable red-tinged, translucent halite from Stoke Prior and a series of historic photos of industrial salt production from this location. Even more remarkable - the salt spring on the bank of the River Salwarpe which today discharges 27 tonnes of salt into the river every day. Rare vanadiniferous nodules in the Keuper Marl at Gregory's Bank, Worcester. Agates from Marlbrook Quarry, Bromsgrove (19 exceptional specimens are illustrated).

Collectors and Collections (27 pages) – Historic Collectors (84 of them) beginning with John Tradescant (1587–1638) and ending with Richard Barstow (1947–1982). Three favourites being John Woodward who was responsible for the oldest geological museum in the world (Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge); Philip Rashleigh who produced two early (1797 and 1802) colour illustrated books on British minerals, and Sir Arthur Russell who was perhaps the greatest British mineral collector of the twentieth century. Brief summaries of 28 public museum/mineral collections.

Mineral Dealers (8 pages) – 13 dealers are described including Don Edwards – fossilist and petrifactioneer (illustrated in his Tideswell Dale Rock Shop). This photograph is a little gem.

Decorative Stones (6 pages) – Alabaster, Ashford Black Marble and Blue John are covered. The final illustration in the book (Fig. 943) shows an unbelievable collection of Blue John artifacts ranging from jewellery to turned objects that was originally used by Fellows Auctioneers to publicise a large auction of collectibles in October 2015.

So is the book a good buy at £35 for softback or £50 for hard back? - a resounding yes. Should the collector or British mineral enthusiast buy a copy? – it's ESSENTIAL. This book is nothing less than the best book on British mineralogy for a decade. They say good things come in threes – so I hope Roy is already mulling over his next book!