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The Last Empire: De Beers, Diamonds, and the World, by Stefan Kanfer
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Chronicles the history of the De Beers diamond mines, from Johannes De Beer's humble South African ranch to the Oppenheimers' vast empire. By the author of A Journal of the Plague Years.
- Sales Rank: #1120549 in Books
- Published on: 1993-05
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.50" h x 6.50" w x 1.25" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 409 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Kanfer ( A Summer World ), a writer and editor at Time , focuses more clearly on history than on analysis in this chronicle of the South African-based De Beers diamond empire. He stylishly recounts tales of 19th-century South Africa, where such arresting characters as Barney Barnato and Cecil Rhodes made fortunes on the frontier. He describes the founding of De Beers's sibling, the Anglo-American Corp., and the quirky, powerful Oppenheimer family at its helm. Kanfer offers an adequate, but not probing, analysis of De Beers's alliances with South Africa's enemies, and the cartel's currently diminishing prospects due to the political situations in Angola and Russia. Conspicuously missing are both a description of the important role De Beers and Anglo have played over the past two years during South Africa's protracted negotiations toward democracy, and a consideration of how they might fare under a new government. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The next time you hear that a "diamond is forever," you may wish to read this history of the De Beers diamond empire and its later absorption under the Oppenheimers by the Anglo-American Corporation. From its opening depiction of the grim diamond fields, this is the story of cutthroat capitalists, the economic and racial development of South Africa, and a multinational corporation that controls virtually the world's entire diamond and gold trade. Kanfer is a Time magazine journalist with a flair for spinning a very good tale that should appeal to general readers, especially history buffs. Not a dry, scholarly tome, this book provides more compelling reading than most fiction.
- Paul H. Thomas, Hoover Institution Lib. , Stanford, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
From veteran Time editor Kanfer (A Summer World, 1989, etc.): an enjoyable history of De Beers, the great business empire that founded a country, helped start a war, and funded the legendary Rhodes scholarships. Kanfer begins with the discovery, in 1867, of the first diamond in South Africa, found by a farm boy who noticed ``in the glare of the sun a glittering pebble.'' That pebble was the first of a great mother lode of diamonds to be found in this arid area of South Africa along the Orange River and, later--to the great relief of investors--buried deep in the ground in pipes of ancient rock. The Kimberley diamond fields attracted adventurers, failures, and a slew of ambitious men: young Jews from the London slums, like Solly Joel and the great Barney Barnato; Albert Beit, from Germany; and, of course, Cecil Rhodes, the clergyman's son who dreamed of making the continent British from the Cape to Cairo. Kanfer describes how these men formed the holdings that--named after the owners of a farm on which a rich lode was discovered--became De Beers. In time, the old guard was taken over by Ernest Oppenheimer, an ambitious young Englishman who survived anti-Semitism, the obstructions of rivals, even a shipwreck, to found--with the help of American capital--the Anglo American Corporation, which he used to buy De Beers, turning it into a powerful cartel that today controls the worldwide sale of diamonds. Kanfer not only details the Oppenheimers' rise to fame and fortune, their often brilliant tactics to safeguard their empire (not the least being the slogan ``a diamond is forever''), and the relevant historical background, but he also speculates on a future threatened by turmoil in South Africa, smuggling in Angola, disruption in Russia, and a global recession. Timely corporate history--as exciting and poignant as any good tale of derring-do against great odds by all-too-flawed giants. (Forty photographs) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
*A Big Thanks to Mr. Stefan Kanfer*
By A Customer
Thank you Mr. Stefan Kanfer for tackling the project on the diamond empire. The subject matter is not easy to write, but Mr. Kanfer managed to tell a story in a way that portrays a business biography in an academic yet exciting tone. "The Last Empire" is a very thoroughly researched and extremely well written book. I've learnt so much about the history of the most powerful diamond organization in the world (The DeBeers), its operation, structures, system, human interaction and the people behind the industry. Lots of great pictures and the stories of old Africa is filled with romantic images it makes reading a pleasure. Truly inspiring!
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent History - Captivating Story
By John C. Borgquist
I thought this book was very informative and one of the easiest reading non-fiction books out there. I was surprised to find out just how many different people were involved with the diamond trade in South Africa: Cecil Rhodes (the only person to have a country named directly after him), Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill...the list goes on. This book is one I had to add to my own shelf.
25 of 31 people found the following review helpful.
Does not live up to its title
By Louie2
This book's title describes it as one about "De Beers, Diamonds, and the World." Instead, a more accurate title would have described the book as telling of "Political Inequality Between the Races in South Africa." True, the book discusses De Beers quite a bit, but the discussions seem incidental to the author's focus on the plight of South African blacks throughout history. The description of De Beers's diversification is less than cursory; the book often omits major business decisions completely but then later assumes knowledge of them by the reader. For instance, the book leaves out any mention of *how* De Beers came to own an interest in copper mining, but still mentions such mining interest a couple of times toward the end. Further, complex business relationships, such as that between Anglo-American, Consolidated, and De Beers, need much more explanation than they get. The author spends considerably more time discussing how "Anglo-American" was chosen as the company's name than what its exact corporate form is and how it its relationship to De Beers works out in practice. Last, I take issue with the writing style itself. The prose is heavy and dry; even interesting characters' stories are flaccid and dull. Overall, this book is a good complement to other South African history books, but as a book about diamonds and the workings of De Beers (the book it puts itself out to be), "Last Empire" falls utterly flat.
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