"[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 exposé 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
