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Africa’s diamond wars took four million lives. ‘Blood on the Stone’ tells the story of how diamonds came to be so dangerous, describing the great diamond cartel and a dangerous pipeline leading from war-torn Africa to the glittering showrooms of Paris, London and New York. It describes the campaign that forced an industry and more than 50 governments to create a global control mechanism, and it provides a sobering prognosis on its future.
‘The book’s strengths are threefold. The first is that it explains the murky trade in rough diamonds in crisp, compelling prose. […] The second strength is that Smillie’s writing on Sierra Leone is excellent. It is one of the best summaries of that country’s civil war and how diamonds bankrolled the RUF. […] Third is that he offers memorable observations on the difficulties in launching the Kimberley Process.’ –‘No One’s Best Friend: A Canadian expert examines the devastation diamonds have wrought in four African countries’, book review by Blake Lambert in the ‘Literary Review of Canada’
'Timely and of interest.' —‘International Affairs’ January 2011 Book Reviews
'Smillie’s skill is the ability to write a scholarly record of the circumstances that created conflict diamonds while also providing an entertaining, fast-paced read full of intrigue. ‘Blood on the Stone’ will be welcomed by anyone interested in Africa, corporate social responsibility, and geopolitics.' —‘Gems & Gemology’ Winter 2010 Book Reviews
'Smillie is one of the most well-known experts and advocates on blood diamonds. […] ‘Blood on the Stone’ marks another contribution to a growing body of literature on natural resource extraction purchases.' —Lee Berthiaume, ‘Embassy’ magazine book review
Ian Smillie has lived and worked in Africa and Asia as a teacher, consultant, investigator and writer. For the past ten years his career has focused on blood diamonds, the wars they fuelled and a scheme designed to stop them. This has taken him from the jungles of West Africa to the backstreets of Antwerp and a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, where he was the first witness in the trial of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor. Smillie was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2003.
Glossary; Preface; Prologue; 1. Of Judgement and Cunning Work: Dirty Diamonds; 2. The River of Big Returns: Geology and History; 3. De Beers: The Delicate Equipoise; 4. Strange Plumbing: The Diamond Pipeline; 5. Angola: Another Distracting Sideshow; 6. Liberia and the Love of Liberty; 7. Sierra Leone: Diamonds in the RUF; 8. President Mobutu’s Ghost; 9. Enter al Qaeda; 10. Boiling Frogs: Companies in Hot Water; 11. Ice Storm: The NGO Campaign; 12. Kimberley: A Hope In Hell; 13. Endgames; Epilogue; Bibliography