Diamonds are not for love

Any American lady who reads this book will no longer think that diamonds stand for love. They stand for hate and greed and mutilation.

6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Very bloody and very real.

This book is not really tracing the path of the conflict diamonds very far, it is describing the conflict and the politics involved in the civil war in and around Sierra Leone.

The book is very exiting to listen to since this book was written after "on location" research in the conflict zone.

The book is well written and it is not difficult to imagine the bloody details described in this book, like people having their hands chopped of by RUF rebels because the president had asked the population to hold hands and face the problems as a united country.

Highly recomended!

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great inside look at the diamond industry

What did you like best about this story?

The detailed investigative journalism.

If you could give Blood Diamonds a new subtitle, what would it be?

Amputations live forever.

Any additional comments?

I made this purchase to learn more about Sierra Leone, it's civil war and the attitude sierra leoneians have about the industry that holds them in bondage. All of my questions were answered. I was pleasantly surprised by the detailed look into the history of the industry and the way it operates today. One of the most interesting parts of the book was about the connection between the 9/11 attacks and the diamond fields of Sierra Leone.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

An eye-opening read that will make you think twice

I wish that I had read this book sooner to warn me about the vicious brutality that has been perpetrated in Africa over diamond mining. It is sad how poorly regulated this industry is, and what a slick business the de Beers corporation has done to manipulate the market to keep prices artifically high and their pockets fat. I only have one diamond and I have to wonder if some poor soul had limbs hacked off over this tiny bit of rock. I am glad that I read this book because it has opened my eyes to the industry. If I ever buy another diamond it will be from the Canadian mines, cruelty free and from workers paid a decent wage.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Outstanding

This was a tragic and compelling story of a child soldier who experiences one tradedy after another, in which circumstance transforms him into a cold blooded killer. The story ripped at my heart strings and Beah's character saturates the story. I look forward to hearing more from this young author.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Important Book, Needs Updating, Lacks Perspective

Blood Diamonds is an uneven book. It provides gripping and daring reporting on the crimes against humanity inflicted on Sierra Leonians in the late nineties. And it lays out a comprehensive view of the diamond trade and how it relates to Sierra Leone. But it paints a much less coherent picture of the politics of the country while failing to understand, much less depict, the United Nations intervention which helped bring the fighting to a close. All too often, this reader was left lost in the weeds and wanting to understand the bigger picture better. The author’s potshots at the U.N., which was in many cases protecting him, coupled with a failure to revise the book, which seems to have been written around 2002, did not help.

All in all, listen to this book if you want to understand the conflict in Sierra Leone, if only because it seems to be the only book on it that Audible has produced. Listen to it if you want to understand the looting of African resources, because, along with John Pendergrast’s better written and more focused Congo Stories, it is about the only book on the matter to be produced by Audible as well. Listen to it for its gripping stories. But it is not the best book for feeling into the pain and learning to empathize with the victims of crimes against humanity, though the author does try. Nor is it a good place to understand African politics or those of the region.

However much the overall book may suffer from some deficiencies, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, and page by page, it is a well written book on an important topic that can enrich your understanding of the world.

Theo Horesh, author of The Holocausts We All Deny

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

a diamond is forever

loved it very informative. The reading was easy to follow. I could not wait to read more i feel more educated after reading this book.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Excellent

People don't count when it come to big business .... Ruthless , Frightening what's happening for the sake of diamonds.. Leave item on the shelves..

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Stunning brutality..

As a Swede born in the 90’s I’ve only heard of the conflict but never really taken a deep dive to learn more about it. Absolutely stunning how brutal humans can be for economic gains.

A good listen for people to learn the story behind some of the luxury jewels that people buy but rarely think of its bloody past.

the information in here was sickening

thankful I've never been a diamond lover, but after hearing about the horrible happenings & gruesome treatment so many people had to live with; I may not be able to wear my white topazes.