Stoned

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAs entertaining as it is incisive, Stoned is a raucous journey through the history of human desire for what is rare, and therefore precious.What makes a stone a jewel What makes a jewel priceless And why do we covet beautiful things In this brilliant account of how eight jewels shaped the course of history, jeweler and scientist Aja Raden tells an original and often startling story about our unshakeable addiction to beauty and the darker side of human desire.What moves the world is what moves each of us desire Jewelry which has long served as a stand in for wealth and power, glamor and success has birthed cultural movements, launched political dynasties, and started wars Masterfully weaving together pop science and history, Stoned breaks history into three categories Want, Take, and Have and explains what the diamond on your finger has to do with the GI Bill, why green tinted jewelry has been exalted by so many cultures, why the glass beads that bought Manhattan for the Dutch were initially considered a fair trade, and how the French Revolution started over a coveted necklace.Studded with lively personalities and fascinating details, Stoned tells the remarkable story of our abiding desire for the rare and extraordinary. Read Stoned author Aja Raden – kino-fada.fr Written in a witty and easy to read manner and imparting some very interesting history and facts, this is the type of nonfiction book I love to read Starting with the use of glass beads by the Dutch to buy what is now known as Manhattan, through Tudor history and Queen Elizabeth s love of pearls, through the infamous necklace that started ...This was a pretty interesting book Key events in history and lite economic theory told through the lens of gems and jewelry The writing was good, the stories interesting and the author has a sense of humour about herself though she did slag fat girls about 10 pages in and that made me want to put the boo...I m only giving this book 5 stars because the site doesn t have a 12 star rating This is as much fun as reading ever gets, and the prima facie reason good nonfiction isengaging than fiction History, villains, heroes, economics, world wars, royalty and royalties, 36 inch tall hairdos take that, Donald Trump , a li l island called Manhattan, and a smaller one off the coast of Japan, and science And gems, jewelry andbetter jewelry Jewelry that somebody else has and you want and th I m only giving this book 5 stars because the site doesn t have a 12 star rating This is as much fun as reading ever gets, and the prima facie reason good nonfiction isengaging than fiction History, villains, heroes, economics, world wars, royalty and royalties, 36 inch tall hairdos take that, Donald Trump , a li l island called Manhattan, and a smaller one off the coast of Japan, and science And gems, jewelry andbetter jewelry Jewelry that somebody else has and you want and the psychology of envy and the positional good of rarity Brain chemistry, gem chemistry and eye tracking The only piece missing is what emerald is on the cover With that hint of elusive blue, as Gigi learned from her great aunt We meet the two advertising women who made the diamond engagement ring myth come to life by lying their professional asses off on behalf of De Beers Next mission fo...By turns a history, geology, chemistry or economics lesson, it deserves to be read by all nerds As an added bonus, she s got a sharp wit.I thoroughly enjoyed this wacky book, which is a confluence of chemistry, history, psychology, and technology I had never thought of jewelry as a lens through which to view the various trends and movements through time of the human experience, but the author performs this task very well It is also, in parts, quite funny I highly recommend this boo...Just like their glittering surfaces, jewels have one, and only one, real power They reflect our desires back to us and show us who we areThis is Aja Raden s first book and she is already my queen of non fiction By blending history, humor, and personal experience Raden has created something compulsively readable I think her voice could make any subject appealing.Ever heard that infamous tale of the Native Americans who were swindled out of the island Manhattan by the Dutch for glass beaJust like their glittering surfaces, jewels have one, and only one, real power They reflect our desires back to us and show us who we areThis is Aja Raden s first book and she is already my queen of non fiction By blending history, humor, and personal experience Raden has created something compulsively readable I think her voice could make any subject appealing.Ever heard that infamous tale of the Native Americans who were swindled out of the island Manhattan by the Dutch for glass beads Spoiler alert, it was a good deal Anyone remember Armand Hammer, the Trump before Trump, who made Americans fall in love with all things Faberg It turns out, like Trump, he was too friendly with Russia and an all around blackguard.These are just tw...What a delightful book Leave it to someone who studied both ancient history and physics in college to bring together the best possible history of the world told through jewels Raden mashed together many disciplines to bring you the story of how jewels affected the world I will list some highlights, but they won t do this book justice Each section, no matter what jewel was analyzed, dove deep in not only how that jewel was discovered or cultivated, it also provided a delicious glimpse into th What a delightful book Leave it to someone who studied both ancient history and physics in college to bring together the best possible history of the world told through jewels Raden mashed together many disciplines to bring you the story of how jewels affected the world I will list some highlights, but they won t do this book justice Each section, no matter what jewel was analyzed, dove deep in not only how that jewel was discovered or cultivated, it also provided a delicious glimpse into the psyche of people, and groups of people, in history and the different things they tried to signal about their worth by wearing jewels The sections almost always included some type of power...An absolute Gem of a bookI loved this book.What type of book is it though Is it a Yuval Noah Harari big picture look at humanity Is it a Stacy Schiff event based push through history Or is it a subtly irreverent Mary Roach type non fiction book It s a little bit of all of these I came in expecting a Harari esque high level overview of humanity and its conception of value, and though Aja Raden provides that she definitely lapses into pure history.Emeralds bring her into being able to show th An absolute Gem of a bookI loved this book.What type of book is it though Is it a Yuval Noah Harari big picture look at humanity Is it a Stacy Schiff event based push through history Or is it a subtly irreverent Mary Roach type non fiction book It s a little bit of all of these I came in expecting a Harari esque high level overview of humanity and its conception of value, and though Aja Raden provides that she definitely lapses into pure history.Emeralds bring her into being able to show the fight between Spain and England Faberge Eggs allow her to tell the tale of early 20th century Russia.De Beers Haha well that s its own chapter.But though this book employs many different styles like diamonds actually are there is plent...It was impossible for me to walk past this book Admittedly, I am attracted to book covers and sometimes buy based only on the cover Here, the temptation was doubled because the cover was one huge octagon cut emerald Jewelry attracts me like a magpie and, apparently, I am not alone as author Aja Raden points out in Stoned Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World Her premise for this book is here, in this quote from the preface,All of human history can be boiled down to these thr It was impossible for me to walk past this book Admittedly, I am attracted to book covers and sometimes buy based only on the cover Here, the temptation wa...I have worked in the jewelry business for a while now and am often amazed at how attached people are to their jewelry The engagement ring part of it, especially will bring out the crazy in a lot of normally sane people Sure it is pretty, special, valuable, a gift from someone you love, etc., but does it truly define us or our relationships This book says yes undoubtedly.Raden focuses on diamonds, emeralds and pearls, recounting the origins of each and the part they played throughout histor I have worked in the jewelry business for a while now and am often amazed at how a...

• English
• 04 September 2018
Aja Raden
• Hardcover
• 356 pages
• 0062334697
• Aja Raden
• Stoned