NEW BOOK ALERT
by Jack Kallmeyer

William A. Hessin has written a new book that may be off interest to Cincinnatian collectors: South-Central Ontario Fossils - A Guide to the Ancient Marine Life of the Region. The 286 page book is being self-published by the author primarily in electronic format although a soft cover perfect bound version is available as well. Both versions can be had with a supplement of photographic plates.

I have not obtained a copy of the book for review but I did receive sample pages and plates. The electronic format yields some advantages over print in that there appears to be more color imaging.

The sample trilobite page I saw had a color photo of an actual fossil next to an excellent line drawing. The text includes descriptive information and the geographic area in which the species is found.

Hessin forwarded a sample of one of the 47 Plates from the supplement. This one happens to be of crinoids. Here is where the electronic format pays dividends. The photographic quality is such that the image can be enlarged to 200% without image degradation so the reader can really see details clearly. Most of the crinoids shown on this plate were in color. The Supplement has (9) plates of trilobites and (8) of echinoderms. The remaining plates cover all other invertebrate groups.

You may wonder why I believe this book will interest Cincinnatian collectors. As the true students that you are, I know that you want to know as much about the Ordovician as you can and the Ontario fossils are Cincinnatian in age. Many of the fossils in this work will be similar or related to our local fauna.

The book is currently being peer reviewed by David Rudkin, Curator of the Department of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Royal Ontario Museum. If you purchase the electronic format now and the peer review forces changes, Hessin has assured me that buyers will get an updated copy at no charge.

You may check out the specifics of ordering the electronic or print versions here: http://www.eagle.ca/~ontariofossils. Current pricing, depending on content and format, ranges from $15 to $125.

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