About book Blood Diamonds: Tracing The Deadly Path Of The World's Most Precious Stones (2004)
Almost good coverage of the conflicts in Sierra Leone ruined by uber liberal left wing reporter who Monday morning quarterbacks every solution to every problem with a nike-esque "AMERICA should just do it" rationalization- in the face of all of his own very compelling arguments as to why it would be almost impossible- that I am sorry his typing hands weren't severed along with the thousands of natives. There's nothing more offensive to me than someone who shows up in a war torn infrastructure-less jungle who spends the first third of his book explaining why it was impossible for the locals, natives, a UN peacekeeping force-really any force- to solve even the most rudimentary problem in this war torn land despite more international resources spent on it that in any other conflict IN THE HISTORY OF THE UN- because- as the author illustrates- the country is all jungle trails and even the rebels cant blast through it with AK 47s- And really they are just Children who shouldn't be shot just because they are rapacious sociopathic mutilators. These kids make Dahmer look like Paula Dean. In light of all this- the author spends the last 3rd of the book telling me it is America's obligation to fix it and that we are stupid for not doing it. DAYS AFTER 9-11- the American govt didn't do the right thing because there are some tenuous ties to al Quieda money laundering and the diamond trade in this country that ending Sierra Leone's 80 years of barbarism (that no one in the world closer to them gave a shit about)the day after 9-11 should have been the top priority of the American people. I should send MY SON into this jungle mess because some unnamed jackass "analyst" no one has ever heard of says we could have handled it in 12 days- OH yeah Mr. Campbell? And how long after that would you have expected us to stay and invest our service people's lives, American GDP, and other resources we don't have to spare? CUz if we don't flame it down to a parking lot- how do you expect democracy to take hold- fair elections to be run, the fighters, the mutilators the terrorists running rampant over the countryside are adolescents! We're gonna turn them into sweet students who listen to their mommies and behave accordingly? What, they're gonna turn around on day 10 to deliver newspapers to save up for three years to buy a bike instead of picking up a gun and ax to terrorize an entire village into digging up diamonds by using bayonets to carve unborn children out of their mother's bellies and boiling children over a fire if they refuse to shoot their own mother's? WTF? 12 days? You are smarter than that. How dare you. How stupid do you think we are? I got news for you, we could blow the place to pieces and pave the bitch over in a week, we don't need 12 days. What we can not do it instill humanity into monsters in less than a fortnight. Could we provide a personal escort and a counselor for every kid in the country and a prosthetic for every one of the millions of limbs that have been amputated.. We cant do that here. We should send our service men into an unknown jungle to fix this mess half way around the world?- oh, and we're pussies because some dick days we could do it in 12 days and we don't. We could kill everyone in Sierra leone in 12 days- but if you want to turn an entire generation of genocidal diamond thieving hand-chopping off animals into humans in a country with no educational system, no infrastructure no medical care, no psychiatric services, no government and no democracy into a real country- and we're supposed to drop everything to do it because there might be some financial tie between terrorist financing and blood diamonds? Yeah, and lets nuke Switzerland while we're at it, because there is a link between their banks and terrorism too. You want us to go in, and not kill the bad guys, because they are just kids- even though they are carrying AK47s and have name like Queen CHOP HANDS- and the American military should go in to "save these "children"? Then who is the enemy we will defeat in 12 days?HOW DARE YO INSULT MY INTELLEGENCE OR HUMANITY with your paper thin justifications to villanize me for not handing the world the solution to another regional genocide paid for with the lives of the children we struggle to raise in this country. To lay it on my doorstep because of 9-11 is disgusting. ITS NOT MY FUCKING JOB- it is not my son's job and frankly not one American life should be shed in Campbells ridiculous attempt to coddle the children with axes bent on amputation to scare the local tribes into slavery out of a jungle full of the most heinously vicious people I've ever heard of. So yeah. Im annoyed. He's disgusting- the whole whiny little selfish bitch story - I wish I could have helped, but there was nothing I could do, I just paid for my flight to Africa and my flat back home and only had enough cipro for myself, but America should straighten this out but those selfish American millionaires and too busy war mongering and buying their girlfriends diamonds- like we all sit around with our monocles and fainting salts while our servants prepare tea on silver platters- I got news for you Campbell- We have our own violent children, medical deficiencies and economic problems. Half my friends cant afford to vacation for 4 days on the jersey shore-Shove your international flight ticket and holier than thou attitude up your stodgy self righteous do-nothing-but-but place- blame-on-the-wrong-people-ass.
Watching the news nowadays, it’s difficult not to ignore conflicts with a roll of your eyes, and sigh with disinterest. The mentality of most people being “Oh, this doesn’t matter to me” or “This has nothing to do with me” to validate their attitude. And don’t tell me you haven’t felt that before, as modern news gets increasingly more depressing, these conflicts seem to fly over our head.However, rarely do we understand the inner-workings of such conflicts, and the importance that it has on modern society. But, because of this attitude that people have towards these arising issues, is so little because of the stagnation of media and information of a whole, these issues are regarded with ignorance.Enter Blood Diamonds a book written by the journalist Greg Campbell, which, yes, because the basis on which the 2006 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond would be based off of. However, does the book still hold up to it’s merit’s today? After a decade? Well, let me tell you.Before the review, I must disclose that their is something you might notice at the very end. (If you have the newer version of the book) The book was published in 2002, and it’s copyright was done in 2004, and yet, at the very end, there is a chapter that is apparently events recorded during July 2011. So what’s up with that? Well, apparently in the newer, edit of the book, there is another chapter, with Greg Campbell going back seeing what changed. Go figure.As this book is a non-fiction book and follows no conventional tropes and or story structure, I’ll be reviewing this book on how it presents it’s information and the quality of the information.First off, the book is about the diamond trade. But, it focuses more on the aspects of illicit, illegal, and or black market dealings behind the shiny stones that you buy in a jewelry shop. How it got into the shop, and how the industry functions, to what connections it has. Essentially revealing the dark side of the diamond industry.The book achieves a good grasp and impression of the situation at hand by the interviews of people. As it uses it as a way to show how life, or the trade is run in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries of the world. From former rebellions, to the diamond smugglers themselves, everyone’s story is present in a way that almost every side is depicted.The book also, like a mentioned before, also talks about the industry. In the focus of the industry is the role of diamond smugglers, the government, rebels, and the diamond companies like De Beers. You get to have a good idea of the inner-workings of the diamond industry and get to learn about, certain things like, how they control the prices, their aggressive marketing, or their strategies that they used.At the beginning of reading this book, one of my major complaints was that the book’s narrative was not connective, or consistent. Subjects not related to each other would pop up with little to no cohesiveness or context with each other, and not very subject is given the same amount of focus, giving the feeling that some information was left out. This might not sound like a big criticism to many, but, essentially, what this means is that sometimes, Blood Diamonds feels like a gigantic infor dump with no cohesion instead of a interesting look into the diamonds that you buy. Well, it isn’t an info dump most of the time, but there are still those sticking moments.One final thing I have to say about the book, is that it is brutal, and is not scared to tell things in excruciating detail. From a man getting his hand cut off, mind you in the very first pages of the book, to the horror of the war crimes committed by the rebels. If you are of the weak minded, and cannot handle text describing, gory and/or graphic scenes. Skip on this one.In conclusion, Blood Diamonds is an interesting look into an otherwise forgotten conflict of the 1990’s to 2000’s, that deconstructs, the diamond industry and it’s inner-workings, from smuggling to the diamonds that you buy at a shop.
Do You like book Blood Diamonds: Tracing The Deadly Path Of The World's Most Precious Stones (2004)?
I went back and forth from liking some of this book to feeling bogged down in detail by other parts of it. Not being familiar with the geography didn't help either. The history of the diamond trade in general and in Sierra Leone in particular are interesting, and the ruthlessness of the various gov'ts/rebels is hard to even comprehend. I guess the logistics of the money transfers and amounts involved, althouogh necessary to make his point, made the story a little dry at times. I want Simon Winchester to write about Cecil Rhodes, the founder of DeBeers!
—Kim
As an entrepreneur in the gem and jewelry business, I found this book fascinating; as a human being I found it simultaneously horrific and utterly gripping. Although much has come to light in recent years regarding conflict diamonds, this book goes beyond the vague descriptions of war, the exploits of dictators like Charles Taylor and the domination of the industry by DeBeers, and gets up close and personal with the victims and the killers - who, incidentally, are often BOTH victims and killers. An extremely compelling read - I highly recommend it!
—Tammy
Yes this is the book that the recent movie was based on. No I have not seen the movie. The author is a journalist, and it shows. The depth of research and detail in this book is amazing. It outlines in many layers the diamond industry, its history, and its relation to West Africa. I had no idea what to expect from the book, and was shocked to learn the horrid details and atrocities that have been occurring for decades there. Obviously, like the bumper sticker says, "if you are not appalled, you are not paying attention." The Western world has no idea what people are suffering for this made up commodity industry. Campbell shows how elite people literally fabricate the demand for diamonds, and its price points. Everyone seems to believe that diamonds are the most precious thing you can give a loved one. Why is that? Have you ever wondered? Why is it better than any other gem or gift? The answers are very interesting, and are laid out in this book. When you learn the origins of many diamonds, the process they go through and the conditions of the people who mine them, you may want to return it. I know I do. It made me sick. We live in quite a bubble about so many things. I am glad that someone is bringing a conscience to the public about horrible human rights situations like these. The sad thing is that it also makes you wonder why countries like our own are just ignoring it. If we can justify attacking other countries for made up reasons, why can't we take on true issues that are so well documented? It is all politics while people die. This book is one of the best written books I have read in a long time. Campbell's writing style is intelligent, vivid, and picturesque. His depth of research and personal involvement in making this book is astonishing. I appreciate descriptions that make me feel like I am actually with the writer. Such is the case with Blood Diamonds. An excellent read if you can handle its gruesome reality and deep network of connections to follow
—Mqcarpenter
