(032313) Hart, Matthew. Diamond: A Journey To The Heart Of An Obsession. New York: Walker & Company, 2001. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 276 pages. Fine in Fine DJ. B&W Photographs. Recreates the modern history of diamonds, starting in 1869when a native boy in South Africa found a large crystal on a farm, sparking a rush that brought Cecil Rhodes and Ernest Oppenheimer their glory. He chronicles the sensational diamond strike in the 1990s in Canada's Northwest Territories that has shaken the fortress of the old cartel, and profiles the audacious young female geologist Eira Thomas who, against all odds, discovered near the Arctic Circle one of the richest diamond fields in the world. He watches one of the finest diamond cutters operating on a priceless stone and portrays the lives of the countless, nameless cutters in India who have transformed the industry by making valuable the tiny stones that were once considered worthless ISBN: 0802713688
