D I A M O N D S

There is an awesome reference list, but no index; however, the table of contents is lengthy and almost as good as an index. In the acknowledgements (located in the back instead of the front), he thanks his wife Cindy for moving to Murfreesboro with him and doing the proofreading for the book.

Until a few years ago, when diamond mining began along the Colorado-Wyoming border, the Crater of Diamonds area was the nation’s only diamond mining area. The wonderful finds, many disappointments, and weird events will make most field collectors yearn to go to the state park and give it a try. When I wrote a chapter about this gem-rich state, Arkansas, years ago for one of my books, I corresponded with a lady from the park whose teenage daughter, a polio victim, was an avid diamond collector. They wrote that nobody should leave the park empty-handed because in addition to diamond, there is a polishable green to black trachyte, pastel alabaster, chatoyant satin spar, and several varieties of quartz, including dark purple amethyst, lace agate, Montana-type agate, jasper, carnelian, and chalcedony.

Most people, of course, concentrate on diamonds. Worthington had an opportunity to revisit his Kansas lunch companion who started him on his diamond studded career by the exciting tale of finding $1,500 worth of diamonds on a weekend trip to Arkansas. When asked if he sold them, the Kansan said he still had them and quickly brought out a treasure box of sparkling quartz.

I think anyone interested in gems and minerals will enjoy this book immensely. Genuine Diamonds of Arkansas, as the author claimed, is both thorough and accurate, as well as fun to read.

June Culp Zeitner,

who has been writing for the Lapidary Journal since 1956 and joined the editorial staff in 1967, is the author of nine gem and mineral books, and helped start the National Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame.

http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/books/genuinediamond.cfm