The Road to Kosovo: A Balkan Diary
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This first-person, on-the-road travel adventure, the first book by Blood Diamonds author Greg Campbell, lets you ride shotgun through one of the most dangerous and hate-filled regions on earth—the former republics of Yugoslavia—and into a land caught in the uneasy twilight between two brutal wars. Told in a fast-paced, rollicking style that’s funny, sad, thoughtful, and at times horrifying, The Road to Kosovo shows us war and the struggle for peace through the eyes of a young journalist. The poignant scenes of death, confusion, and hopelessness that Campbell observes—not from media hotels but from the homes of locals, in their bars, and on the side of the road—paint a vivid picture of a troubled region resistant to lasting peace. The Road to Kosovo, first published in 1999, has been newly edited and expanded by the author in 2012 exclusively for digital publication. From the Amazon.com review: In the summer of 1998, freelance journalist Greg Campbell got into a rental car in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and drove across Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro into Kosovo, where Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic had recently begun stepping up an ongoing "ethnic cleansing" campaign against the ethnic Albanians who make up the majority of the region's population. Staying with local journalists — some of whom were also part of the underground Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) — Campbell was forced to confront the consequences of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. But, he notes, what happened in that region is equally, if not ultimately, the consequence of the ineffective "protection" offered by NATO forces, including American troops. Drawing on his observations from a 1996 trip to Bosnia, Campbell elaborates upon the unwillingness of those in command of the implementation (later known as stabilization) forces, or SFOR — particularly the American commanders — to do anything more than the bare minimum required by the 1995 Dayton peace accord. Consequently, many Serbian war criminals enjoyed continued liberty, civil unrest continued to flare, and SFOR blamed local authorities for not solving the problem. Under those conditions, Campbell argues, it was inevitable that Kosovo would become another Bosnia. The Road to Kosovo provides valuable background on the conflict between the Serbs and the Kosovars and NATO's track record in keeping the peace in the Balkans. It is also filled with chilling images of the chaos and terror of modern war. The book should be read by anyone hoping to understand why the 1999 intervention by NATO could take place — and how it might have to differ from earlier actions in order to be judged a success. |
Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones
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First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These "blood diamonds" are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces of brides and spouses the world over. Blood Diamonds is the gripping tale of how the diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry — institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel - have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies. These repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the borders of the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global.From the Kirkus review: The sorry role the diamond has played in the history of Sierra Leone, stunningly told by journalist Campbell (The Road to Kosovo, 1999). Sierra Leone is "a vacuum of violence, poverty, warlords and misery, a tiny corner of western Africa where the wheels have fallen completely off," writes Campbell, its politics as raw and unrelenting as the natural environment. But the country has lots of diamonds: it's "diamondiferous." It was also home, until the beginning of this year, to a civil war, fueled by diamonds, wherein the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which is neither revolutionary nor united, killed 75,000 people and mutilated another 20,000, turning 80 percent of the 5 million civilians into refugees. The war involved much murder, dismemberment, and gouging, and diamonds kept it going, gems destined to go not just to the De Beers consortium, but to Al Qaeda as well, a handy liquid asset that couldn't be frozen and travels well: "Three hundred grams of diamonds are equal in value to 40,000 pounds of iron ore, but only one of those commodities can be successfully smuggled in one s bowels." Campbell follows the murky trail of the gems from mine to mainstream as they re taken from grubby pits in the rainforest mined by what can only be called slave labor carried by mule to Liberia, The Gambia, and Guinea, thence to the great diamond centers in New York, Israel, and the Netherlands. Campbell travels the breadth of Sierra Leone to gather his story a savvy blend of history, mercenary operations, corporate shenanigans, and war reporting surely putting himself in as much danger as Doug Farah, the Washington Post reporter who uncovered the Al Qaeda connection and had to leave West Africa hastily.Readers of Campbell's horrific tale from killing fields to corporate boardrooms and all the seedy, murderous, and pathetic characters that fall between who don't demand proof-of-source on any diamond purchase ought to have their ethics examined. |
The book that inspired the six-time Oscar nominated movie "Blood Diamond" with Leonard DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly.Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History With Scott Andrew Selby Buy it here!
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But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves — fronted by the charming Leonardo Notarbartolo, who spent over two years clandestinely casing the building — subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot. Experts estimate they got away with nearly half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables. The thieves did it with stealth and smarts; no one was hurt or even threatened during what was quickly labeled the largest diamond heist in history. The bandits — members of a group of professional thieves known as The School of Turin — used cunning in lieu of violence, successfully evading security cameras, thwarting an array of electronic sensors, and penetrating a vault protected by a double-locked foot-thick steel door. Even when the police zeroed in on who committed the crime, how it was done remained a mystery. Flawless is a fast-paced global scavenger hunt uncovering the truth behind the daring Valentine’s Day weekend heist. Tracking clues, sources, and documents throughout Europe — from seedy cafés in Italy to sleek diamond offices in Belgium — authors Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell retrace Notarbartolo’s careful discovery of the building’s security flaws. They recreate the heist and its aftermath, detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the Diamond Center’s vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing. The result is a thrilling ride through the better-than-fiction heist of the century.
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The Antwerp Diamond Center
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