[PDF] Flight Of The Diamond Smugglers A Tale Of Pigeons Obsession And Greed Along Coastal South Africa eBook

Author : Matthew Gavin Frank
Publisher : Liveright Publishing
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 29,83 MB
Release : 2021-02-23
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1631496034

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“Unforgettable. . . . An outstanding adventure in its lyrical, utterly compelling, and heartbreaking investigations of the world of diamond smuggling.” —Aimee Nezhukumatathil For nearly eighty years, a huge portion of coastal South Africa was closed off to the public. With many of its pits now deemed “overmined” and abandoned, American journalist Matthew Gavin Frank sets out across the infamous Diamond Coast to investigate an illicit trade that supplies a global market. Immediately, he became intrigued by the ingenious methods used in facilitating smuggling particularly, the illegal act of sneaking carrier pigeons onto mine property, affixing diamonds to their feet, and sending them into the air. Entering Die Sperrgebiet (“The Forbidden Zone”) is like entering an eerie ghost town, but Frank is surprised by the number of people willing—even eager—to talk with him. Soon he meets Msizi, a young diamond digger, and his pigeon, Bartholomew, who helps him steal diamonds. It’s a deadly game: pigeons are shot on sight by mine security, and Msizi knows of smugglers who have disappeared because of their crimes. For this, Msizi blames “Mr. Lester,” an evil tall-tale figure of mythic proportions. From the mining towns of Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth, through the “halfway” desert, to Kleinzee’s shores littered with shipwrecks, Frank investigates a long overlooked story. Weaving interviews with local diamond miners who raise pigeons in secret with harrowing anecdotes from former heads of security, environmental managers, and vigilante pigeon hunters, Frank reveals how these feathered bandits became outlaws in every mining town. Interwoven throughout this obsessive quest are epic legends in which pigeons and diamonds intersect, such as that of Krishna’s famed diamond Koh-i-Noor, the Mountain of Light, and that of the Cherokee serpent Uktena. In these strange connections, where truth forever tangles with the lore of centuries past, Frank is able to contextualize the personal grief that sent him, with his wife Louisa in the passenger seat, on this enlightening journey across parched lands. Blending elements of reportage, memoir, and incantation, Flight of the Diamond Smugglers is a rare and remarkable portrait of exploitation and greed in one of the most dangerous areas of coastal South Africa. With his sovereign prose and insatiable curiosity, Matthew Gavin Frank “reminds us that the world is a place of wonder if only we look” (Toby Muse).

Author : MATTHEW GAVIN. FRANK
Publisher :
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 11,60 MB
Release : 2021-07-08
Category :
ISBN : 9781785787430

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A propulsive investigation into the curious role that carrier pigeons play in South African diamond smuggling 'A lyrical portrait of a resilient species caught in the grinding gears of a cruel industry of extraction and exploitation.' Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief In 2016, Matthew Gavin Frank travelled along South Africa's notorious Diamond Coast to report on the illicit trade that supplies a global market. Immediately, he became intrigued by the ingenious methods used in facilitating this trade - particularly, the illegal act of sneaking carrier pigeons onto mine property, affixing diamonds to their feet, and sending them into the air. Investigating a long overlooked true-crime story dating back to the founding of the De Beers Corporation, Frank weaves interviews with local diamond divers who raise pigeons in secret with harrowing anecdotes from former heads of security, environmental mangers, and vigilante pigeon hunters, revealing how these feathered bandits became outlaws in every mining town.

Author : Matthew Gavin Frank
Publisher : At Table
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 15,14 MB
Release : 2012-03
Category : Cooking
ISBN : 9780803240063

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One of the worlds most esteemed wines Barolo summons up images of steeply terraced vineyards and all the elegance and sophistication of Italys Piedmont. Chicago raised Frank became obsessed with food early in life and eventually embarked on a restaurant career. But his first trip to Italy transformed his palate, and he plotted an immediate return, apparently as much attracted by the lovely Raffaella as by the opportunity to immerse himself in life in the tiny hamlet of Barolo, which lends its name to the local wine. Living in a tent in her garden, he took on a job harvesting grapes at one of the regions most notable vineyards. Frank developed a deep appreciation for the Piedmontese, their careful attention to their wines and to their foods, especially that culinary crown jewel, the highly prized Alba truffle. Besides conveying the sensuality of the place, Frank offers insight into the regions history.

Author : Coningsby Dawson
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 395 pages
File Size : 23,23 MB
Release : 2024-01-02
Category : Self-Help
ISBN : 9361150545

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"The Garden Without Walls" by Coningsby Dawson is a singular that unfolds against the backdrop of World War I, supplying a poignant exploration of human relationships and the effect of war on the lives of individuals. Coningsby Dawson, a British author and soldier born in 1883, draws upon his personal reports as a participant inside the battle to infuse authenticity into this compelling narrative. The tale revolves around the protagonist, Philip Arnold, who, like Dawson, serves as a soldier at some stage in the Great War. The novel delves into the psychological and emotional toll of the battle, portraying the demanding situations confronted by way of infantrymen and the stress it puts on their personal lives. At its middle, "The Garden Without Walls" is a reflection on the human situation in times of crisis, analyzing issues of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. Dawson's writing captures the nuances of conflict, presenting readers a glimpse into the camaraderie amongst soldiers, the cruel realities of the battlefield, and the profound effect on individuals and their loved ones. The novel is going past the traditional conflict narrative, focusing on the internal struggles and variations of its characters.

Author : Misha Glenny
Publisher : House of Anansi
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 22,3 MB
Release : 2009-01-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0887848184

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Drugs, weapons, migrant labour, women — these are just a few of the many goods that effortlessly cross national borders in this globalized age, often without the knowledge or permission of the nations concerned. How is this remarkable criminal feat managed?From gun runners in the Ukraine, to money launderers in Dubai, cyber criminals in Brazil, racketeers in Japan, and the booming marijuana industry in western Canada, McMafia builds a breathtaking picture of a secret and bloody business.Internationally celebrated writer Misha Glenny crafts a fascinating, highly readable, and impressively well-researched account of the emergence of organized crime as a globalized phenomenon and shows how its secret and bloody business mirrors both the methods and the rewards of the legitimate world economy. Employing his journalistic talent and his prior experience covering organized crime in Eastern Europe, Glenny reports on his travels around the planet to investigate this worrying and worsening situation. After comprehensively surveying the criminal scene, Glenny ends by considering the future of organized crime. McMafia is an important book that assembles all the pieces of this worldwide puzzle for the first time.

Author : Kris Maher
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 34,89 MB
Release : 2021-10-12
Category : Law
ISBN : 1501187341

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Erin Brockovich meets Dark Waters in this propulsive and heart-wrenching legal drama set in Appalachian coal country, as one determined lawyer confronts a coal industry giant in a battle over clean drinking water for a West Virginia community--from Wall Street Journal reporter Kris Maher. For two decades, the water in the taps and wells of Mingo County didn't look, smell, or taste right. Could it be the root of the health problems--from kidney stones to cancer--in this Appalachian community? Environmental lawyer Kevin Thompson certainly thought so. For seven years, he waged an epic legal battle against Massey Energy, West Virginia's most powerful coal company, helmed by CEO Don Blankenship. While Massey's lawyers worked out of a gray glass office tower in Charleston known as "the Death Star," Thompson set up shop in a ramshackle hotel in the fading coal town of Williamson. Working with fellow lawyers and a crew of young activists, Thompson would eventually uncover the ruthless shortcuts that put the community's drinking water at risk. A respected preacher and his brother, retired coal miners, and women whose families had lived in the area's coal camps for generations, all put their trust in Thompson when they had nowhere else to turn. As he dug deeper into the mystery of the water along a stretch of road where the violence from the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud still echoes, he was pulled into the darkest corners of Mingo County, risking his finances, his marriage, his career, and even his safety. Bringing to life a rich cast of characters and the legacy of coal mining in an essential yet often misunderstood part of America, Desperate is a masterful work of investigative reporting about greed and denial, a revealing portrait of a town besieged by hardship and heartbreak, and an inspiring account of one tenacious environmental lawyer's mission to expose the truth and demand justice.

Author : Alex Butterworth
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 537 pages
File Size : 45,83 MB
Release : 2010-06-15
Category : History
ISBN : 0307379035

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A thrilling history of the rise of anarchism, told through the stories of a number of prominent revolutionaries and the agents of the secret police who pursued them. In the late nineteenth century, nations the world over were mired in economic recession and beset by social unrest, their leaders increasingly threatened by acts of terrorism and assassination from anarchist extremists. In this riveting history of that tumultuous period, Alex Butterworth follows the rise of these revolutionaries from the failed Paris Commune of 1871 to the 1905 Russian Revolution and beyond. Through the interwoven stories of several key anarchists and the secret police who tracked and manipulated them, Butterworth explores how the anarchists were led to increasingly desperate acts of terrorism and murder. Rich in anecdote and with a fascinating array of supporting characters, The World That Never Was is a masterly exploration of the strange twists and turns of history, taking readers on a journey that spans five continents, from the capitals of Europe to a South Pacific penal colony to the heartland of America. It tells the story of a generation that saw its utopian dreams crumble into dangerous desperation and offers a revelatory portrait of an era with uncanny echoes of our own.

Author : Claude Levi-Strauss
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 448 pages
File Size : 15,25 MB
Release : 2012-01-31
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1101575603

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"A magical masterpiece."—Robert Ardrey. A chronicle of the author's search for a civilization "reduced to its most basic expression."

Author : Matthew Gavin Frank
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 156 pages
File Size : 29,15 MB
Release : 2014-07-07
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0871402890

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A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Shelf Awareness Memory, mythology, and obsession collide in this “slyly charming” (New York Times Book Review) account of the giant squid. In 1874, Moses Harvey—eccentric Newfoundland reverend and amateur naturalist—was the first person to photograph the near-mythic giant squid, draping it over his shower curtain rod to display its magnitude. In Preparing the Ghost, what begins as Harvey’s story becomes spectacularly “slippery and many-armed” (NewYorker.com) as Matthew Gavin Frank winds his narrative tentacles around history, creative nonfiction, science, memoir, and meditations about the interrelated nature of them all. In his full-hearted, lyrical style, Frank weaves in playful forays about his trip to Harvey’s Newfoundland home, his own childhood and family history, and a catalog of peculiar facts that recall Melville ’s story of obsession with another deep-sea dwelling leviathan. “Totally original and haunting” (Flavorwire), Preparing the Ghost is a delightfully unpredictable inquiry into the big, beautiful human impulse to obsess.

Author : S. J. Kincaid
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 50,82 MB
Release : 2017-10-31
Category : Young Adult Fiction
ISBN : 1534409947

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The thrilling sequel to S.J. Kincaid’s New York Times bestselling novel, The Diabolic, which TeenVogue.com called “the perfect kind of high-pressure adventure.” It’s a new day in the Empire. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward—one where they don’t have to hide or scheme or kill. One where creatures like Nemesis will be given worth and recognition, where science and information can be shared with everyone and not just the elite. But having power isn’t the same thing as keeping it, and change isn’t always welcome. The ruling class, the Grandiloquy, has held control over planets and systems for centuries—and they are plotting to stop this teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who is considered nothing more than a creature and certainly not worthy of being Empress. Nemesis will protect Tyrus at any cost. He is the love of her life, and they are partners in this new beginning. But she cannot protect him by being the killing machine she once was. She will have to prove the humanity that she’s found inside herself to the whole Empire—or she and Tyrus may lose more than just the throne. But if proving her humanity means that she and Tyrus must do inhuman things, is the fight worth the cost of winning it?