The Heartless Stone

"[A] dazzling display of intrepid reporting." --Entertainment Weekly

"Exhaustively researched and beautifully written." --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Zoellner has an eye for the telling detail, a nose for trouble, and an ability to quickly re-create a scene's mood and sense of place. Wherever he is, he puts you there. . . . A graceful, well-documented tour through decades of diamond-related lore." --Salon.com

"An illuminating expose of a mineral and an industry." --The Wall Street Journal

"Still want a diamond? Before laying out your cash, Zoellner advises that you first understand its origins. . . . An informative book that's equal parts history and travelogue." --Rocky Mountain News

"Riveting . . . A fascinating story." --The Arizona Republic

"A sobering and well-reported look at today's diamond culture." --The Salt Lake Tribune

"Eye-opening . . . With a sharp narrative style and wealth of detail, The Heartless Stone cuts through the sparkle and marketing to show us that a rock is what you make of it." --St. Petersburg Times

"[Tom Zoellner's] investigation into the global diamond industry shatters the mystique with all the vengeance of a jilted lover." --The Oregonian

"A mesmerizing guided tour full of meticulously researched history, interviews, personal stories, and reflections. The Heartless Stone is scrupulous nonfiction that reads like a novel." --Bloomberg News

"It's got all the requisite ingredients of intriguing journalism: greed, sex, gaping economic disparities, and glamour. It's too bad it took a failed engagement to prompt this book, but Zoellner has risen from the romantic ashes with The Heartless Stone. . . . He doesn't miss a stop on the diamond road, hopping from Africa to South America to the British Isles in pursuit of the gem whose exclusivity is based only on the tight control of a few greedy individuals. That little blue Tiffany box might never look the same." --Bookmarks magazine

"Zoellner's sharp, observant descriptions of people and places will sensitize readers to the wider processes of monopoly, smuggling, and war, all of which lurk in the background when a suitor buys a ring for his beloved." --Booklist

"Zoellner's book is part personal travelogue, using the return of his own proffered diamond engagement ring as the starting point, and part investigative journalism. . . . The end result? A gem." --Library Journal