Bad Luck, Hot Rocks: Conscience Letters and Photographs from the Petrified Forest Paperback – November 30, 2014

I really like this book. For those who skimmed the summary above, it's a collection of letters written to the National Parks System as an apology for pilfering a piece of petrified wood (most people also returned a piece of wood as well, so you get to see the photo of that rock too).The photos of the petrified wood are beautiful. But the variety of the letters! So cool. Each letter seems like the start of its own mystery story... it's tantalizing that you only see the letter, and it makes you want to learn more about the person behind it. Honestly I guess I find the concept deeply humanizing - that people from all over the world want to make amends for their lapse in judgment. And I like that for each person, their apology seems to stem from a different place - some are upset at having bad luck (petrified wood superstition), some have been haunted by their bad choice/conscience, and some people don't seem too upset but still want to make it right. It's a cathartic collection of letters for anyone who feels they may have made a mistake in their life, no matter how small (so, it's cathartic for anyone).The only drawback is that this is not a hard cover book; for comparison, it's more like a soft-cover textbook with a firm paperboard for the cover. That said, the paper quality is quite nice and I really like the simple design. It's on my coffee table and I'm considering starting a tradition of sending it to a friend in need.

I love giving this book as gifts

Bought as a Birthday gift for my niece, the Rock Thief. We enjoyed reading it. Good quality, arrived as expected.

Funny true stories. Having lived in the area I can really appreciate this book.

I didn’t need the book until November. Otherwise, the delayed delivery would have been a problem. I was pleased with the boom’s condition.

Great book--one of my favorites this year.

Great book!

This book is unique and filled with very interesting facts of conscious virtuous acts of doing the right thing