{"product_id":"9781504029254","title":"Barren Lands","description":" In the tradition of Sebastian Junger's \u003ci\u003eThe Perfect Storm\u003c\/i\u003e and Jon Krakauer's \u003ci\u003eInto Thin Air\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBarren Lands\u003c\/i\u003e is the extraordinary tale of two small-time prospectors who risked their lives to discover $17 billion worth of diamonds in the desolate tundra of the far north.\u003cp\u003e In the late 1970's, two men set out on a twenty-year search for a North American gem mine, along a fabled path that had defied 16th-century explorers, Wild West prospectors, and modern geologists. They are an unlikely pair: Chuck Fipke, a ragged, stuttering fellow with a singular talent for finding sand-sized mineral grains, and Stew Blusson, an ultra-tough geologist and helicopter pilot. Inventive, eccentric and ruthless, they follow a trail of geologic clues left by predecessors all the way from backwoods Arkansas up the glaciated high Rockies into the vast and haunted \"barren lands\" of northern Canada. With a South African geochemist's \"secret weapon,\" Fipke and Blusson outwit rivals, including the immense De Beers cartel, and make one of the world's greatest diamond discoveries—setting off a stampede unseen since the Klondike gold rush. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e A story of obsession and scientific intrigue, \u003ci\u003eBarren Land\u003c\/i\u003es is also an elegy to one of earth's last great wild places, a starkly beautiful and mysterious land strewn with pure lakes and alive with wolves and caribou. An endless variety of primeval glacial rock formations hide copper, zinc, and gold, in addition to diamonds. Now that the barrens are \"open for business,\" what will happen to this great wilderness region? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eBarren Lands\u003c\/i\u003e is an unforgettable journey for those who, in the words of a nineteenth-century trapper, \"want to see that country before it is all gone.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Krajick's \u003ci\u003eBARREN LANDS\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant, lucid, and, in parts, sensational investigation of the never-ending quest to fulfill the reality and illusion of the diamond invention.\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eEdward Jay Epstein\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eDossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Rise and Fall of Diamonds\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  This is a big, big tale, custom-made for the most robust of armchair adventurers and overgrown dreamers. Not since John McPhee has a writer made me care so much about the men who care for rocks. \u003ci\u003eBARREN LANDS\u003c\/i\u003e is bursting with life, with action played out on so many landscapes and timescales that it is breathtaking to behold\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eMarc Zabludoff\u003c\/b\u003e, former editor in chief of \u003ci\u003eDiscover Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e A spellbinding modern-day adventure yarn - legendary lost mines, brutal physical hardships, cunning corporate spies, and narrow escapes from death, all framing the human drama of a multi-billion dollar treasure hunt. Krajick's stylish prose combines the keen eye of a scientist with the flair of a best-selling novelist.\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eRobert M. Hazen\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Diamond Makers\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In \u003ci\u003eBARREN LANDS\u003c\/i\u003e, Kevin Krajick relates the extraordinary history of the Canadian diamond rush - a rush that is still going on. En route he offers an indelible cast of characters, from aboriginals to geologists, from independent prospectors to de Beers secretive experts, all bent on tapping a $17 billion treasure beneath the frozen tundra. This tale of avarice and ambition—every word of it true—has never been told so dramatically, or with such scrupulous attention to detail.\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eStefan Kanfer\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Last Empire: de Beers, Diamonds and the World\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eBARREN LANDS\u003c\/i\u003e is a true adventure story, with secrets, spies, attempted murder, mysterious fires, plane crashes, and feats of daring and courage. It is fascinating, fast-paced, and enormously enjoyable.\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eRichard A.F. Grieve\u003c\/b\u003e, Chief Geoscientist, Natural Resources Canada \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Kevin Krajick's masterful portrait conjures up adventure on the grand scale. \u003ci\u003eBARREN LANDS\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a scientific thriller, an excursion into industrial espionage and page-turning paean to obsession.\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eKathleen Burke\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Open Road Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47046757220592,"sku":"9781504029254","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781504029254_p0.jpg?v=1763709426","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781504029254","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}