From Publishers Weekly
In an ambitious effort that is equal parts history, sensationalized gossip and political expos‚, London Sunday Times investigative reporters Levy and Scott-Clark trace the winding path of the so-called "Stone of Heaven." The story begins in 1735, when jade-obsessed Chinese emperor Qianlong endeavors to extend China's reach into present-day Burma, reputed to contain the world's finest jade. Over time the infatuation with jade also infects French and British colonials, adventurers, Chinese gangsters, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, all of whom energetically loot the Imperial Court's treasures. Descriptions and provenances of legendary jade pieces (some of which are lost for centuries at a time) are given at length. Among the history's cast of characters is bad-girl Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, who receives a tabloid treatment of her jade collection, marriages, sexual misadventures and profligate spending. But the history, the gossip, even the sensational stories of the depredations of the indigenous tribes who fiercely protected their secret jade mines, pale in comparison to the authors' visit to Burma. Risking their lives, Levy and Scott-Clark pose as gemologists and, with guile, courage and bribery, reach Hpakant, home to the mines. There they find hundreds of thousands of destitute people virtually enslaved amid prostitution, government-sponsored heroin addiction, and "jade disease, or AIDS." The story of the quest for jade ends abruptly in a kind of hell, rendered as astutely as the excesses in this intriguing history. 40 b&w photos. This book's various elements rest uneasily together; no doubt, most readers will be lured by the romance of jade, but in fact the book's strongest point is its horrifying conclusion.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This mesmerizing chronicle interweaves legend, mythology, and history with a shocking contemporary expose of the Burmese jadeite mines. Before visiting the deplorable mining pits in Myanmar (formerly Burma), the authors embarked on a circuitous research odyssey, retracing the colorful history of the valuable gemstone. Unearthing letters, diaries, and maps and interviewing countless numbers of jewelers and collectors, they pieced together the fascinating tale of a stone so beautiful and exotic that it was said to cast a spell on emperors and commoners alike. Curious as to the current state of the jade industry, they posed as representatives of an Australian mining company to gain permission to visit the so-called Valley of Death, the legendary hills of jadeite in northern Myanmar. Once there, they were shocked to find all the rumors true: the jade mines were a cesspool of abuse, disease, promiscuity, and drug addiction, promoted and sanctioned by the military, the mining companies, and the government. An engrossing combination of narrative history and undercover journalism.
Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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