Blood on the Stone is a new book by Ian Smillie. It is a gripping account of the cartel, warlords, gun runners and shadowy traders who populated Africa’s bloody diamond wars, and the faltering, decade-long effort to clean up an entire industry. Smillie has lived and worked in Africa and Asia as a teacher, consultant, investigator and writer. For the past ten years his focus has been blood diamonds, the wars they fuel and the Kimberley Process-the global certification scheme designed to stop their illegal trade and carnage. This has taken him from the jungles of West Africa to the backstreets of Antwerp and a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, where he was the first witness in the trial of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor.Smillie has lent his expertise to several international organisations, including the UN Security Council Expert Panel examining the relationship between diamonds and weapons in West Africa and the Diamond Development Initiative, of which he is chairman.

In this new book he tells the story of how diamonds came to be so dangerous, describing the great diamond cartel and a dangerous pipeline leading from war-torn Africa to the glittering showrooms of Paris, London and New York. The book offers readers an insider’s account of efforts to develop a campaign that would eventually force the industry and more than 50 governments to create the Kimberley Process. It concludes with a sobering assessment of the certification system, which has become hostage to political chicanery, mismanagement and vested interests.

Some comments on the book include: “Required reading for anyone who still believes the diamond trade is only about love, honor and trust… A devastating, important work… Read this before you buy another diamond.” -Greg Campbell, co-author of Flawless: Inside the World’s Largest Diamond Heist

“A masterly account of the dark side of the diamond trade. Smillie’s scalpel has cut very deep.” -Matthew Hart, author of Diamond: the history of a cold-blooded love affair

“Smillie’s compelling narrative of the journey from teacher to prosecutor is touching and breathtaking.” -Peta Thornycroft, award-winning Zimbabwean journalist

Africa’s diamond wars took four million lives. Blood on the Stone tells the story.

Contents: Glossary; Preface; Prologue; 1. Of Judgement and Cunning Work: Dirty Diamonds; 2. The River of Big Returns: Geology and History; 3. De Beers: The Delicate Equipoise; 4. Strange Plumbing: The Diamond Pipeline; 5. Angola: Another Distracting Sideshow; 6. Liberia and the Love of Liberty; 7. Sierra Leone: Diamonds in the RUF; 8. President Mobutu’s Ghost; 9. Enter al Qaeda; 10. Boiling Frogs: Companies in Hot Water; 11. Ice Storm: The NGO Campaign; 12. Kimberley: A Hope In Hell; 13. Endgames; Epilogue; Bibliography

Blood on the Stone: Greed, Corruption and War in the Global Diamond Trade by Ian Smillie Ordering in the UK/Rest of the World Marston Book Services [email protected] or [email protected]

Ordering in North America Books International [email protected]