ANYONE who has ever wondered what sort of rock or even mineral a pretty-coloured pebble found on the beach, or a stone picked from a mine dump might be, will be delighted with Simon Camm's Cornish Rocks And Minerals.

As a youngster, as he tells us, he "looked into a grotto lined with crystals and metallic ores and, ever since, has been fascinated by minerals." He has also written and co-written numerous scientific papers and is author of Gold In The Counties Of Cornwall and Devon.

From atacamite brought up from Levant mine to axinite from Botallack, from calcite from Geevor to native bismuth from St Ives Consols, from its illustrated Mineral Gallery to its glossary of geological terms, he has struck gold with this.

He helps readers in their discovery of Cornwall's rich and diverse mineralogical heritage.

Cornish Rocks and Minerals is published by Alison Hodge at £5.95.