This book contains just about everything you ever wanted to know about the
hardest natural material on Earth, made of the substance of life—carbon.
From manufacture by meteorite impact to the allure and efficacy of diamonds as
poison and aphrodisiac, this beautifully illustrated collection of essays is a
fascinating introduction to an extraordinary material. The Nature of Diamonds,
edited by George Harlow, Cambridge University Press and the American Museum of
Natural History, £19.95, ISBN 0521629357.
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