STONES OF CONTENTION: A HISTORY OF AFRICA’S DIAMONDS

Book ID/图书代码： 12873513B66241

English Summary/英文概要： Africa supplies the majority of the world’s diamonds, yet consumers generally know little about the origins and history of these precious stones beyond sensationalized media accounts of so-called blood diamonds.

Stones of Contention explores the major developments in the remarkable history of Africa’s diamonds, from the first stirrings of international interest in the continent’s mineral wealth in the first millennium A.D. to the present day. In the European colonial period, the discovery of diamonds in South Africa ushered in an era of unprecedented greed during which monopolistic enterprises exploited both the mineral resources and the indigenous workforce. In the aftermath of World War II, the governments of newly independent African states, both democratic and despotic, joined industry giant De Beers and other corporations to oversee and profit from mining activity on the continent.

The book also considers the experiences of a wide array of Africans—from informal artisanal miners, company mineworkers, and indigenous authorities to armed rebels, mining executives, and premiers of mineral-rich states—and their relationships to the stones that have the power to bring both wealth and misery. With photos and maps, Stones of Contention illustrates the scope and compexity of the African diamond trade as well as its impact on individuals and societies.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 非洲为全世界提供了绝大多数的钻石，然而除了媒体对于所谓血钻的种种轰动和夸张的宣传以外，消费者们鲜少知道这些珍贵的石头真正的起源和历史故事。

《宝石之争》将深入追溯非洲的钻石在其神奇历史中的主要发展历程：全世界对这片大陆上的矿藏财富的关注从公元1世纪起掀起便至今从未停歇。在欧洲对其进行殖民统治时期，在南非所发现的钻石更是掀起了一股前所未有的狂热，在此期间，垄断资本家们不仅极尽挖掘当地的矿藏资源，更是对那里的劳动力进行了无情的剥削。二战的余波尚未平息，新近成立的非洲政府民主性与暴虐性并存，与产业巨头De Beers以及其他公司一道，在无意间窥探到了在这片大路上进行矿藏开采背后所潜藏的巨大利润。

此外全书还深观了一大批非洲人的经历与命运---从非正式的挖矿工匠、正式公司的矿工以及当地权利集团，到武装反动派、矿业决策者以及矿藏丰富国家的首相----他们与这些宝石之间的关系转变给他们带来的有财富也有苦难。《宝石之争》中有拍摄的图片也有地图，不仅将为你展示非洲钻石交易的范围之广及关系之复杂，还将带领你感受其对个人和社会的巨大影响。(DC)

Awards/获奖情况：“Teachers of African and world history will welcome the lucid style and topical introduction to historical issues. …Unlike the now dime-a-dozen summaries of African history, this book marshals a great deal of evidence, contains much substance, and provides some interesting perspectives. The temptation might be to consume the book at a single sitting. This would be a pity, for the tastiest morsels, in particular primary sources that relate labor experiences on colonial mines, should be savored.”—American Historical Review

“Todd Cleveland captures this long and important history in a lucid narrative thatcombines the big story of geopolitics and global economy with individual life stories andtestimonies of representatives of the colonial states and mining companies as well as thevoices of African labourers. The book is an easy read and very suitable for students, whowill profit from the further reading suggestions.”—International Review of Social History

“As Cleveland’s book makes clear, a combination of high value and low volume makes the stones a destabilizing resource, and the concept of ‘blood diamonds’ has become a familiar trope in African affairs. But this concise history of the African diamond trade, which began with the discovery of a diamond in South Africa in 1867, evinces a more nuanced understanding of its impact on the continent.”—Foreign Affairs

“In Stones of Contention, Cleveland (Augustana College) skillfully mines previous scholarship to provide readers with a short synthesis of the political, economic, and social history of Africa’s important diamond industry…. Summing up: recommended.”—CHOICE

“Cleveland begins by asking a question that was posed to him: ‘Would you ever purchase an African diamond knowing what you know now?’ In this introduction to the industry, he strives to give readers sufficient facts to answer that question themselves by making sense of a global commodity shrouded in secrecy and the illusions of marketing…. Cleveland’s work is necessarily accessible and important, as diamonds will continue to play a prominent role in world events.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Todd Cleveland has written a novel approach to African history. Rather than present yet another account whose organizing focus is by country, region, or colonizer(s), he has presented an interesting, thoughtful, and well-written undergraduate textbook whose integrating theme is a key resource—diamonds. . . . Resource exploitation is a vital aspect of Africa’s past and present, and Cleveland’s study of the history of diamonds provides a neat introduction to the continent’s narrative.” —Canadian Journal of African Studies

“A useful, lucid account of this sometimes dark and disturbing trade.” —Matthew Hart, author of Diamond: The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair

About the Author/作者介绍： 托德•克里夫兰德是奥古斯塔娜学院的一名历史系副教授。不论是在安哥拉还是加纳进修时，他都是富布赖特奖学金的获得者。他著有许多有关于钻石采掘历史和前非洲葡萄牙帝国足球史的书籍和文章。

Todd Cleveland is an assistant professor of history at Augustana College (Illinois). He has been a Fulbright scholar in both Angola and Ghana. He is the author of numerous book chapters and articles on the history of diamond mining and on soccer within the former Portuguese empire in Africa.

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