Story of a humble South African farm that sparked a 19th-century diamond rush, turning the Cape of South Africa into an exotic Klondike of corporate lust, brutality and greed. For more than 100 years, control of the world’s diamonds has been in the hands of one family, the Oppenheimers of South Africa and England—the diamond dons of De Beers. “The Oppenheimers have endured threats to their lives, outlived global depression and two world wars, survived Afrikaaner terror, United Nations denunciations, miner’s strikes, revolutionaries, sanctions, failed lawsuits, black consciousness. They have heard themselves called slavers in modern dress… they have also recieved awards for sharing their wealth with African employees… ‘Governments fall, entire countries come and go, but diamonds—and the cartel that controls them—are forever.’” GR

Publisher: Noonday
Paperback: 409 pages
Illustrated

An important book that unearths the suppressed history of pre-’70s black cinema, a diverse artistic legacy as old as film itself. Most of the films synopsized here are near-impossible to see (many no longer exist), but the gorgeous posters (with evocative titles like “I Crossed the Color Line,” “The World, the Flesh and the Devil” and “It Won’t Rub Off, Baby”) are completely satisfying in themselves. MG

Publisher: Noonday
Paperback: 168 pages
Illustrated