Random House New Releases - Nature - Rocks & Minerals

Jewels by Victoria Finlay

2007-08-14T00:30:00-05:00

Jewels A Secret History
Written by Victoria Finlay

Trade Paperback, 496 pages | Random House Trade Paperbacks | History - World; Nature - Rocks & Minerals | $17.00 | 978-0-345-46695-2 (0-345-46695-0)

Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventure travel, geology, exciting new research, and her own irresistible charm, Finlay has fashioned a treasure hunt for some of the most valuable, glamorous, and mysterious substances on earth.

With the same intense curiosity and narrative flair she displayed in her widely-praised book Color, Finlay journeys from the underground opal churches of outback Australia to the once pearl-rich rivers of Scotland; from the peridot mines on an Apache reservation in Arizona to the remote ruby mines in the mountains of northern Burma. She risks confronting scorpions to crawl through Cleopatra’s long-deserted emerald mines, tries her hand at gem cutting in the dusty Sri Lankan city where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires, and investigates a rumor that fifty years ago most of the world’s amber was mined by prisoners in a Soviet gulag.

Jewels is a unique and often exhilarating voyage through history, across cultures, deep into the earth’s mantle, and up to the glittering heights of fame, power, and wealth. From the fabled curse of the Hope Diamond, to the disturbing truths about how pearls are cultured, to the peasants who were once executed for carrying amber to the centuries-old quest by magicians and scientists to make a perfect diamond, Jewels tells dazzling stories with a wonderment and brilliance truly worthy of its subjects.

From the Hardcover edition.

Jewels by Victoria Finlay

2006-08-15T00:30:00-05:00

Jewels A Secret History
Written by Victoria Finlay

eBook | Ballantine Books | History - World; Nature - Rocks & Minerals | $13.99 | 978-0-345-49335-4 (0-345-49335-4)

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Rocks and Minerals by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

1988-04-12T00:30:00-05:00

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Rocks and Minerals
Written by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

Trade Paperback, 192 pages | Knopf | Nature - Rocks & Minerals | $10.95 | 978-0-394-75794-0 (0-394-75794-7)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

1979-05-12T00:30:00-05:00

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals
Written by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

Hardcover, 856 pages | Knopf | Nature - Rocks & Minerals | $19.95 | 978-0-394-50269-4 (0-394-50269-8)

Perfect for mountain climbers and hikers, this valuable reference covers more rocks and minerals in North America than any other available guide. 794 full-color photographs depict all the important rocks, gems, and minerals -- in many variations of color and crystal form -- and the natural environments in which they occur; written descriptions provide information on field marks, similar rocks and minerals, environment, areas of occurrence, and derivation of names. Includes a guide to mineral collecting and a list of rock-forming minerals

Random House New Releases - Nature - Rocks & Minerals

Jewels by Victoria Finlay

Jewels A Secret HistoryWritten by Victoria Finlay

Jewels by Victoria Finlay

Jewels A Secret HistoryWritten by Victoria Finlay

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Rocks and Minerals by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Rocks and Minerals Written by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals Written by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

Jewels A Secret History
Written by Victoria Finlay

Jewels A Secret History
Written by Victoria Finlay

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Rocks and Minerals
Written by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals
Written by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY