LEADER 00000pam  2200337 i 4500 
003    DLC 
005    20210224072111.8 
008    200619s2021    nyua     b    000 0 eng   
010      2020028156 
020    9781631496028|q(hardcover) 
040    IEN/DLC|beng|erda|cDLC|dGCmBT|dUtOrBLW 
042    pcc 
043    f-sa--- 
082 04 364.13360968|223 
092    364.1336096|bFRA 
100 1  Frank, Matthew Gavin,|eauthor. 
245 10 Flight of the diamond smugglers :|ba tale of pigeons, 
       obsession, and greed along coastal South Africa /|cMatthew
       Gavin Frank. 
250    First edition. 
264  1 New York, NY :|bLiveright Publishing Corporation, a 
       division of W.W. Norton & Company,|c[2021] 
300    208 pages :|billustration ;|c22 cm 
336    text|btxt|2rdacontent 
337    unmediated|bn|2rdamedia 
338    volume|bnc|2rdacarrier 
504    Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-208). 
505 00 |tPrologue --|tMsizi and His Bird --|tIsaac Newton & Co. -
       -|tBartholomew Variation #1 --|tBeyond the Pits of 
       Alexander Bay --|tPort Nolloth and the Halfway Desert --
       |tBartholomew Variation #2 --|tRiding with the Faceless --
       |tDriving to Kleinzee Amid Shipwrecks and Snakes --
       |tBartholomew Variation #3 --|tNew Rush and Kimberley: The
       De Beers Origin Story --|tBeyond the Boom Gate, Touring 
       the Erasure --|tBartholomew Variation #4 --|tPilgrims and 
       the Mountain of Light: A Link Between Myth and Human 
       History --|tOdyssey to Die Houthoop --|tChampagne and 
       Death at Dark: The Origins of a Pigeon Obsession --
       |tBartholomew Variation #5 --|tThis Security Thing --
       |tBartholomew Variation #6 --|tEpilogue. 
520    "Blending elements of reportage, memoir, and incantation, 
       Flight of the Diamond Smugglers is a stunning 
       investigation into the role of carrier pigeons in South 
       African diamond smuggling. Nearly every town along South 
       Africa's infamous diamond coast has been deemed 
       "overmined." Before the area fully becomes a series of 
       abandoned outposts, journalist Matthew Gavin Frank drives 
       from Oranjemund, Namibia to the De Beers mining towns of 
       Alexander Bay, Porth Nolloth, and Kleinzee. What begins as
       an attempt to peer behind the curtain cloaking the global 
       diamond trade soon becomes a tale of obsession, as Frank 
       learns about the various and ingenious methods used in 
       illicit diamond smuggling-particularly, the sneaking of 
       carrier pigeons onto mine property, affixing diamonds to 
       them, and sending them into the air to fly home. So 
       rampant is this method that a law in 1998 made it illegal 
       to not shoot a pigeon on sight. Frank juxtaposes the 
       endangered lives of local diamond diggers (whose average 
       lifespan is 37 years) who raise pigeons in secret with the
       corporate boardrooms of De Beers, while also synthesizing 
       myths across histories and cultures in which diamonds and 
       gems intersect. As he speaks with miners, former heads of 
       security, environmental managers, and more, he gets ever-
       closer to the elusive Mr. Lester-a tall-tale villain meant
       to frighten would-be smugglers, and the only person who 
       can answer Frank's questions, if he is indeed real. 
       Written in atmospheric and lyrical prose, Flight of the 
       Diamond Smugglers becomes an urgent portrait of labor, 
       greed, and our penchant for ownership"--|cProvided by 
       publisher. 
650  0 Diamond smuggling|zSouth Africa. 
650  0 Diamond mines and mining|zSouth Africa. 
650  0 Homing pigeons|zSouth Africa.