Flight of the Diamond Smugglers - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Flight of the Diamond Smugglers write by MATTHEW GAVIN. FRANK. This book was released on 2021-07-08. Flight of the Diamond Smugglers available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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.
Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa
Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa write by Matthew Gavin Frank. This book was released on 2021-02-23. Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. “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).
Barolo
Barolo - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Barolo write by Matthew Gavin Frank. This book was released on 2012-03. Barolo available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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.
McMafia
McMafia - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook McMafia write by Misha Glenny. This book was released on 2009-01-19. McMafia available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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.
The World That Never Was
The World That Never Was - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The World That Never Was write by Alex Butterworth. This book was released on 2010-06-15. The World That Never Was available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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.
