Product Description

Journalist Greg Campbell leads the reader down the international diamond trail of brutality, horror, and profit - providing an on-the-ground and in-the-mines story of global consequence.

First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These "blood diamonds" are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces of brides and spouses the world over.

Blood Diamonds is the gripping tale of how the diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry - institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel - have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies. These repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the borders of the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global. Updated with a new epilogue.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55024 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-04
• Released on: 2004-02-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780813342207
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Library Journal
Freelance journalist Campbell here writes about the cost of diamonds not in dollars to the consumer but in blood, torture, and death for the unfortunate residents of contested mining areas in Sierra Leone. He explains that "conflict diamonds," or "blood diamonds," which account for only three to four percent of all diamonds sold, are mined in war zones, smuggled out of the country, and sold to legitimate companies, financing ruinous civil wars and the plots of international terrorists, including the al Qaeda network. The gems' value and portability have made controlling the diamond mines important to guerrilla fighters, who maim and kill innocent villagers to secure their territory. Campbell has spoken with individuals all along the pipeline, from miners to soldiers to smugglers, and the grim portrait he paints will make many people think twice about buying another diamond. While Matthew Hart's Diamond: A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession covered the international diamond trade more widely, this focused study of the catastrophic effect of blood diamonds on Sierra Leone belongs in all libraries. Deirdre Bray Root, Middletown P.L., OH
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Journalist Campbell takes the reader on a journey to the dark side of the glittering image of diamonds, a darkness too long out of sight of Euro-American consciousness. Campbell explores the significance of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, the West African country formed by the British to reward African American slaves who fought for the Crown in the American Revolution. He recounts the horrors of this war-torn nation, with child-soldiers and deranged adults who have reportedly cut off the hands and elbows of innocents or even removed fetuses from pregnant women via machete. The underlying motivation for the violence and strife of Sierra Leone is centered in the diamond trade, much of it illegal smuggling sanctioned by the cartel DeBeers. The trade has earned the name "blood diamonds" and has financed conflicts and rebellions around the world, including the al-Qaeda network. Campbell notes that this same illegal diamond trading that has wrecked Sierra Leone may provide the basis for hope as the West is compelled to address the tragic circumstances of this war-torn nation. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A vivid, hair-raising tale of brutal proportions that outdistances any fictional tale of derring-do." -- The Washington Times

"An eye-opening story of bloodshed in the name of wealth." -- The Bookwatch

"You will shudder when you read the opening lines of Greg Campbell's new book Blood Diamonds." -- Rocky Mountain News

"[This book] will forever change the way you think about a jewel sparkling on the ring of a young bride." -- Boulder Daily Camera

Customer Reviews

A Compelling Narrative with Its Flaws
Campbell writes compelling narrative with a fascinating array of characters - corrupt dictators, warlords, mercenaries, peacekeepers, child soldiers, missionaries, shady Middle Eastern merchants, diamond buyers, jewelers, diplomats, et al. - weaving in the tragedy that the pursuit of instant riches in the alluvial diamond fields of West Africa has wrought. The result is a modern morality tale about the scarce resources, globalization, and violence.

The book, however, is flawed by its author's failure to properly situate his narrative within the historical and political context of subregional conflict involving Liberia and Sierra Leone. The reader would thus do well to supplement this volume with a good political narrative like Pham's LIBERIA: PORTRAIT OF A FAILED STATE (Reed Press) or Ellis's MASK OF ANARCHY (New York University Press) in order to get a complete picture.

Priorities
Do we need a PR firm to boost the value of human life over a diamond? BLOOD DIAMONDS is an amazing book, filled with detail and stark commentary but , more than that, presenting a story of contemporary times in a small African country that most of us didn't know.

I thought back to what was happening in my life in 1999 and 2000. I knew a home health aide from Sierra Leone who told me her country was in a civil war, that her relatives could not come or go and that she sent them whatever she could. Blood Diamonds' author Greg Campbell fills in the awful details of her story.

We are working on becoming the small world and community some would like to be. Could we contribute by shutting down the Sierra Leone mines, buying their mangoes instead and letting the people there really go to the beach in a place called FREETOWN?

What a well-written story; it should touch your heart and soul.

Diamonds are not a girl's best friend....
I lived in Sierra Leone for quite a number of years and hence had the opportunity to experience what it was like to live sorrounded by poverty and diamonds (the Kono area). Unfortunately for me and my family, security reasons forced us to leave the country in the nineties.
Nowadays I live in Madrid, Spain. I'm a doctoral student and my research area is the diamond industry of Sierra Leone and its implications on the underdevelopment of Sierra Leone.
Mr. campbell's book has been very valuable to me because of the information it contains (for my disertation) and because it has sadly/happily brought me back to the country that I love most in the world.
Thank you Mr Campbell!
I strongly recommend the reading of this book.