Ruff S Diamond World

Perhaps the world's most prestigious bridge magazine, 'The Bridge World' each month features a column entitled 'Test Your Play', which consists of two difficult problems in declarer play for readers to solve. In this book, Jeff Rubens has collected some of his favourite hands from this column, and presents them as a compendium for those who like a serious intellectual challenge. There is a steady market for problem books of this kind and this collection is guaranteed to be of high quality.

Thousands of years ago, diamonds were initially reserved for royalty and nobility., Diamonds, the hardest mineral ever discovered, are the purest substance that occurs in nature. In All About Diamonds, author Lana Frank shares a host of valuable information and facts about diamonds. Filled with ample colorful illustrations and photos, Frank, an accomplished diamond cutter, gives valuable insights into diamonds, what they are, and why they are important. She provides an overview of: • the physical properties of diamonds; • the history of diamonds; • the formation of diamonds in the earth; • where diamonds are found; • the mining and manufacturing process; • the history of diamond cutting; • diamonds’ main characteristics; and • fancy-colored, famous, and synthetic diamonds. A resource for science collections, school projects, and general education, All About Diamonds gives a thorough description of the exciting world of this fascinating precious mineral.

Twenty-six of the world's top players talk about bridge -- their favorite hands, their worst moments, their most-feared opponents, and so on. We see the human side of people who to many bridge fans are just names, and we gather from them a series of tips and ideas that will help the reader improve his own game. The players covered are men and women from all parts of the world, and most will be household names for anyone who follows the game at all. The list runs from the old masters to the brightest new stars, and includes several whose contribution to the game is as a writer or teacher.

Diamonds in Nature: A Guide to Rough Diamonds illustrates the range of crystal shapes, colours, surface textures, and mineral inclusions of rough, uncut, naturally forming diamonds. Each chapter contains photographs that show the unique physical characteristics of the diamonds, and the accompanying text describes the processes that led to their formation. This book is an invaluable reference manual for professional geoscientists—including gemmologists and exploration geologists.

Bridge Today Digest recently celebrated its first anniversary (and 100th issue) as an Internet-based 'bridgezine'. It is renowned for its practical advice, its wonderful bridge stories, and the wry humour and personal touch of its editors. For this collection, they have selected the very best pieces from their first year, and come up with a compendium that every bridge player can read, enjoy, and learn from. It includes short pieces from world-renowned writers, questions and comments from readers (and the editors' responses to them ), and a wealth of fascinating hands, anecdotes and advice from the editors.

A sweeping history of our enduring passion for diamonds—and the exploitative industry that fuels it. Blood, Sweat and Earth is a hard-hitting historical exposé of the diamond industry, focusing on the exploitation of workers and the environment, the monopolization of uncut diamonds, and how little this has changed over time. It describes the use of forced labor and political oppression by Indian sultans, Portuguese colonizers in Brazil, and Western industrialists in many parts of Africa—as well as the hoarding of diamonds to maintain high prices, from the English East India Company to De Beers. While recent discoveries of diamond deposits in Siberia, Canada, and Australia have brought an end to monopolization, the book shows that advances in the production of synthetic diamonds have not yet been able to eradicate the exploitation caused by the world’s unquenchable thirst for sparkle.