Fossil hunting 101: A guide for the absolute newbie Paperback – March 3, 2018

One of the best I’ve read on Fossils yet. Very easy to understand, he explains exactly what is needed as amateur fossil collector and/or for anyone who has passion in rocks/ fossils. I keep referring back to what he has written & observing collection now that I have better understanding after I have read his book. I have had passion with rocks since childhood picking up unique rocks for the past decade. Recently I observed many of rocks I have are fossil rocks & since then I started researching via the internet & reading many books on Fossils finally Michael’s book explains exactly what to look for in rocks, who to contact ,how to label fossil collection & much more. He is straight to point “collect fossil because it’s fun not to make money“ although it’s a possibility you may. Love his honesty & quite humorous throughout his book, too, making fun to read. Although he is a Paleontologist book is written with words easy to read. Michael shares many great photos in his book as examples, too. Definitely worth reading if have a hobby in fossil or desire to learn about fossil or rock hunting.

This is a great resource to move from finding some fossils to becoming a collector. The author uses a snarky tone to explain how to collect, prepare, and record important facts about fossils in your collection. He describes tools and techniques and provides good visuals. He uses a strange mixture of large vocabulary words and slang. I found it very interesting to read, but at times difficult because of typos and poor English choices, as English is not his first language. Very entertaining.

Yes it is for the complete newbie as stated in the title, but the author is funny and engaging. There are lots of good little nuggets of information in there. Definitely worth the read if you’re just starting out.

Entertaining, honest guide from an insider, written for me, the total newbie. Well worth the kindle price. I read it straight through in 15 minutes.

Exactly what I expected

Awesome!!! This book is easy for "newbies" to understand and the author is hilarious so you get to be both educated and entertained I loved it

More like a story about the writer and his experiences collecting fossils in Europe.Helpful in a very basic way to prepare for collecting fossils.Very easy read.

Excellent! This book is great for the newbie as well as the "professional". I find it refreshing that a "Paleontologist" is willing to share his thoughts on th foolish rules/laws that are placed on this great hobby. Mr. Maisch is a TRUE scientist.

This is a very good book. The author gives all the information needed for a newcomer without the need to flood you with useless information that you would never remember. It is presented as if he is talking to you personally. I found it a very easy read and all the knowledge contained has sank in. The humour and passion really present themselves. Very worthwhile read.

Bought this book for my boyfriend who is interested in fossils and wants to start fossil hunting.He loves the writing style and has really enjoyed reading this book.He likes thats its more focused about fossil hunting and provides lots of tips and interesting info, instead of going into fossil history like most other books do.

I recently decided to take up fossil hunting after visiting the Jurassic Coast in Dorset but had no idea how to get started. Therefore, I bought this book as it came recommended on Amazon. As a book aimed at beginners it's pretty much spot on. There isn't a huge amount of detail in here, but that's probably a good thing as no one starting out in a new hobby want's to get overwhelmed with too much detail and jargon. However, I would have liked to have seen some basic information on the most common types of fossils. The authors writing style is unconventional and it's like you're sitting down the pub with him whilst he talks about his hobby, saying whatever comes in to his head. Personally I didn't mind this and it actually added character to the book. I did find him contradictory on one occasion though. In one chapter the author literally says to throw out any fossils that you don't think are much good in order to stop your collection becoming unmanageable. However, in the chapter on fossil collecting laws, which the author as a dealer hates, he criticises the museums for destroying fossils they have too many examples of. That aside, at £5.00 this is a great little introductory book in to the hobby of fossil hunting. Now then, where's my hammer?

Good information regarding fossil hunting very interesting and relavant to where we are living near the Jurassic Coast.

Can’t recommend it highly enough.