"A fossil," writes Jasper Burns, "is first of all a thing of remarkable beauty. The sense of awe and exhilaration so many of us feel in the presence of the Ocean, or the Pyramids, or the Great Wall of China comes to me when I find a broken shell that's a million years oldNothing in nature can seem more mute than the stone impression of an organism whose kind disappeared half a billion years ago-yet almost nothing can be more eloquent if we have the ears to hear."

For most of his life Jasper Burns has been "hearing" the message of fossils. Drawn from this extensive experience, this book is both an introduction to the hobby of fossil collecting and a unique field guide to sites in the Mid-Atlantic region. The book is beautifully illustrated with the author's drawings of more than 450 fossil specimens and the sites where they can be found.

In all, Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States describes forty-six specific sites in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each description includes:

• Precise directions to the site and a description of the most productive areas
• The name and geologic period of the rock formations containing fossils
• What to look for and how to find it
• Special hazards or problems
• A complete list of fossils identified at the site
• Detailed illustrations of the major specimens