Spring 2007

Book Reviews

Pearls
By Elisabeth Strack, 678 pp., illus., publ. by Rühle-Diebener-Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany, 2006. €106.10 (US$115)*
Reviewed by Doug Fiske
Gemological Institute of America
Carlsbad, California

Not Your Mama’s Beading: The Cool and Creative Way to String ‘Em Along
By Kate Shoup Welsh, 224 pp., illus., publ. by Wiley Publishing [www.wiley.com], Hoboken, NJ, 2006. US$14.99
Reviewed by Jana E. Miyahira-Smith
Gemological Institute of America
Carlsbad, California

Special Exhibition Jadeite: Treasure of Orient
By the National Science Museum [www.kahaku.go.jp/english], 202 pp., illus., publ. by the Mainichi Newspapers Co., Tokyo, 2004 [in Japanese; no price information available]
Reviewed by Taijin Lu
Vista, California

Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem
By Richard Kurin, 388 pp., illus., publ. by Smithsonian Books [www.smithsonianstore.com], Washington, DC, 2006. $24.95
Reviewed by Gail Brett Levine
National Association of Jewelry Appraisers
Rego Park, New York

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED
Precious Minerals (Gemology). By Ruslan I. Kostov, 453 pp., illus., publ. by PENSOFT [www.pensoft.net], Sofia, Bulgaria, 2003 [in Bulgarian]
Reviewed by Boris Shmakin
Institute of Geochemistry
Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences
Irkutsk, Russia

Faceting History: Cutting Diamonds and Colored Stones. By Glenn Klein, 242 pp., illus., publ. by the author [www.glennklein.com], Lake Forest, CA, 2005, US$21.99
Reviewed by Stuart Overlin
Gemological Institute of America
Carlsbad, California

Symposium on Agate and Cryptocrystalline Quartz. Daniel Kile, Thomas Michalski, and Peter Modreski, Eds., 144 pp., illus., publ. by Friends of Mineralogy (Colorado Chapter), Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, and U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, US$20.00
Reviewed by Stuart Overlin

The Art of Diamond Cutting, 2nd ed. By Sofus S. Michelsen and Basil Watermeyer, 147 pp., illus., publ. by Sofus S. Michelsen [sofus_sidney@direcway.com], Port Angeles, WA, 2005, US$49.95
Reviewed by Thomas W. Overton
Gemological Institute of America
Carlsbad, California

Alexandrite. By Yury S. Kozlov, 143 pp., illus., publ. by Nauka Publishers [www.maik.rssi.ru], Moscow, 2005, €33.
Reviewed by Thomas W. Overton

MEDIA REVIEW
Aphrodite’s Drop: The Power of Pearls. A Faction Films production [www.factionfilms.co.uk], London, 75 min., 2005, available in DVD format, £30.00
Reviewed by Stuart Overlin