The friendly text and hundreds of color photographs of beads from around the world bring order to this awesome field of growing popular interest. This new book makes the identification of beads possible._x000D_Written to encourage collectors and clarify the origins and uses of beads in their native settings, this book provides the best and broadest reference available to date. Furthermore, newly revised pricing information makes this book useful in today's marketplace. _x000D_Beads of organic, stone, and glass materials are individually discussed. Then Mr. Francis traces certain types of beads to their origins in Europe, the Middle East, India, the Far East, Southeast Asia, North and South America and Africa--literally circling the globe._x000D_Jewelry makers and collectors, artists, hobbyists and serious historians alike will find Mr. Francis's personally researched and clearly stated explanations fascinating._x000D__x000D_ AUTHOR: Peter Francis, Jr. is the founder of the Center for Bead Research in Lake Placid, New York. His dedicated work as a bead historian has taken him around the world several times.