Michael Gienger (1964-2014) was one of Europe’s most respected experts on crystals and their uses, a field in which he had been active since 1988. He started collecting minerals in 1972, and in 1985 a successful self-treatment with healing crystals inspired him to pursue further training as an alternative healing practitioner. He was trained in shiatsu and completed a two-year apprentice in shamanic healing. He went on to author more than 20 publications, a number of which have become standard works in their field and have been translated into 11 languages.

"This is an 'A-Z Guide to 555 gemstones,' and is only 4.5” x 6.5” in size, and fits easily into one’s pocket or purse to have while crystal shopping. Each stone is shown in color to help with identification and the physical and metaphysical properties of each."