The Heartless Stone. A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire by Zoellner, Tom

(New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006) 9780312339692. Signed by the author on the title page. 8vo; original black boards, lettered in metallic blue to spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. (viii) + 293, incl. index; map. Near-fine condition. 'Across fourteen nations and six continents, the empty mythology of the diamond drew him into a world in which a piece of carbon is made to breathe with the profound intimacies of our own histories. Sparked by his obsession with the diamond that changed his life, Zoellner searches for the answer to the question "How has one stone created empires, ruined lives, inspired lust, and emptied wallets through history?" An adventure story in the tradition of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, The Heartless Stone is a voyage into the cold heart of the world's most unyielding gem.' .