Cover art for Flight of the Diamond Smugglers
Published
Icon Books, August 2021
ISBN
9781785787430
Format
Softcover, 224 pages
Dimensions
21.6cm × 13.5cm × 1.6cm

Flight of the Diamond Smugglers A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession and Greed along Coastal South Africa

Not in stock
Fast $7.95 flat-rate shipping!
Only pay $7.95 per order within Australia, including end-to-end parcel tracking.
100% encrypted and secure
We adhere to industry best practice and never store credit card details.
Talk to real people
Contact us seven days a week – our staff are here to help.

'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.

Related books