false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186370484m/1650926.jpg 1650926 3 Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventure travel, geology, exciting new research, and her own irresistible charm, Finlay has fashioned a treasure hunt for some of the most valuable, glamorous, and mysterious substances on earth.<br><br>With the same intense curiosity and narrative flair she displayed in her widely-praised book Color, Finlay journeys from the underground opal churches of outback Australia to the once pearl-rich rivers of Scotland; from the peridot mines on an Apache reservation in Arizona to the remote ruby mines in the mountains of northern Burma. She risks confronting scorpions to crawl through Cleopatra&#8217;s long-deserted emerald mines, tries her hand at gem cutting in the dusty Sri Lankan city where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires, and investigates a rumor that fifty years ago most of the world&#8217;s amber was mined by prisoners in a Soviet gulag.<br><br>Jewels is a unique and often exhilarating voyage through history, across cultures, deep into the earth&#8217;s mantle, and up to the glittering heights of fame, power, and wealth. From the fabled curse of the Hope Diamond, to the disturbing truths about how pearls are cultured, to the peasants who were once executed for carrying amber to the centuries-old quest by magicians and scientists to make a perfect diamond, Jewels tells dazzling stories with a wonderment and brilliance truly worthy of its subjects.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i> 24385 2006 Jewels: A Secret History total:79|5:22|4:34|3:21|2:2|1:0| 79 313 150 34 5 0 false false Fri Aug 07 10:59:05 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 12:18:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 28 09:35:59 -0700 2007 Wed May 14 06:55:12 -0700 2008 Finlay organized her book...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 07:31:43 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 07:42:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 05 14:41:18 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 15 14:51:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 07 15:43:33 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 16 22:31:11 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 15:43:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 15 07:02:25 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 07:05:28 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 23 10:17:06 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 23 10:23:28 -0800 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Oct 16 11:22:41 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 11:39:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 28 18:43:48 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 18:44:12 -0700 2008
...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Mar 06 11:18:55 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 11:21:10 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Nov 25 18:21:52 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 18:22:54 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Aug 12 13:34:51 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 13:37:47 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Nov 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Sep 29 06:48:02 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 05 13:22:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jun 12 10:13:54 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 10:14:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 10:14:33 -0700 2007 Fri Jan 18 07:04:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 12:19:14 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 12:19:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Sep 14 20:58:37 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 20:58:48 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Oct 17 00:36:26 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 11 19:18:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 11 07:39:09 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 07:40:44 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jun 07 14:42:15 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 16:34:32 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1650926