Book excerpt: Hardbound. This monograph is essentially an atlas, illustrated by 375 figures (mainly photomicrographs) presenting the most common and significant textures of the metamorphic-metasomatic rocks from many important regions of the world. The book as a whole covers the wide spectrum of metamorphic processes and the basic relation of metamorphic processes and textures is emphasised.Metamorphism-metasomatism is seen as an integral system where every textural intergrowth is the result of a particular process. In addition, principles of comparative anatomy (widely accepted in bioscience) are applied in metamorphic petrology and conclusions are reached inductively, based on textural analysis. The comparative anatomy approach aims at finding ideas and principles that will attempt to unify diverse, textural patterns of an evolving system (as rocks are) and integrate them into concepts of wide application.Emphasis is put on the significance of crystalloblaste