2010, ISBN: 9788857206455

UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn,no price-clip - absence of publisher's price - to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt bl… Altro …

UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn,no price-clip - absence of publisher's price - to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt black background with super-imposed colour diamonds, photographic illustrated dw/dj panels with white+grey lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.A small indent to top panel of dw/dj,lightly affecting the board beneath in concomitant spot.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight, clean - near pristine - one intentional dog-eared diagonal reading crease to top corner of pp47/8,else otherwise appears unread - apart from my collation.Publisher's bright, crisp,clean, sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright, crisp,blocked silver gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain pale blue endpapers.UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj, 1st edn,2-287pp [paginated] includes 12 chapters,some b/w photographs and b/w diagrams scattered throughout the text and the book,an Appendix,a select Bibliography, Acknowledgements and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title +title pages,a dedication,a Contents list/table,author's Note and another title separator page. Prized above all other gems for their beguiling lustre,diamonds have trailed through history a dazzling chronicle of human desire.Their story is both brutal and exotic,inspiring crimes of passion and cold-blooded efficiency,bewitching the greatest film-stars and the most opulent courts,and providing the incentive for adventure and greed on a monumental scale.No one company is more identified with diamonds than the South African-based De Beers,the operators of the infamous diamond cartel.They are secretive, discreet and very,very powerful,even contriving to lure Russia into their cartel when a huge number of diamonds were discovered in Siberia. 80% of the world's rough diamonds flowed into De Beer's hands.A strike in Northern Canada could hardly seem to trouble such a titanic empire.And yet it did - sparking a diamond rush into territory over which the cartel had no influence,by prospectors they did not own.And the strike promised enormous riches.Here is the full story of an event to topple the diamond kings.Through it is woven the history of the world's most acclaimed diamonds,the process by which they are cut,fashioned,smuggled and stolen, the legends and superstitions that are attached to them,the characters who comprise the great diamond prospectors and, above all,of the shadowy hand of De Beers for whom diamonds are forever. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!N.B. ALL buyers please note,stock(s)' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,AFTER order's receipt and BEFORE before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard US AIRMAIL to these destinations can now,in some cases,cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **, LONDON.FOURTH ESTATE,2002., 5, Milan: Skira. Qto., 208 pages, illustrated. A Fine copy. . Fine. Paperback. 2010., Skira, 2010, 5<