Hope Diamond

Queen of Diamonds: The Fabled Legacy of Evalyn Walsh McLean
$29.95
I have been a biography reader for many years and I can surly say that after reading this wonderful book about a lady who gave more to others then herself must have been to good to be true. Reading stories like this, reminds me when I was a little boy when my mother and grandmother would sit around a table and tell me about their lives. Most of all when their lives went to rags to riches to rags again like Evalyn did. I could not put Queen of Diamonds down. I'm so glad that a great grandson has taken a true story and is able to share his memories to everyone. It's wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to read a good story. I applaude him. A MUST TO READ AND TO HAVE TO SHARE TO OTHERS.

Ancient Mysteries - Curse of the Hope Diamond
$24.95
This A&E special speaks of the myths and truths surrounding the blue diamond.
Trekkies may love this because Leonard Nimoy directs it.
On the one hand, it is great to know the facts; knowledge is power. However, the diamond has now lost much of its allure to me. Really, the diamond's story is a bit anti-climactic. However, history doesn't always follow the exciting pace of literature.
As I always note of documentary, I hate cheesy reenactments. Unfortunately, this documentary was full of them. I guess some actors love playing period roles for a scene or two. Still, in all honesty, one can only look at the blue diamond so many times. It was good to see people and objects moving. This would have been dull if it just showed the gem from thousands of angles.
In a documentary I once saw about whether dreams portray the future, one skeptic said, "Millions of people are having millions of dreams and unsurprisingly, some may be like the future." This applies here: some people face bad events, whether they are cursed or not. I hardly doubt the French Revolution or the death of the Kennedy brothers were caused by this diamond, and one interviewee says as much.
I am worried that this documentary lacked a class analysis. When it is expressed that the gem causes bad luck, is this just a way to get poorer people not to want pricey things? Some say the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a plea for Americans to ignore critiquing elitist Bush-Reagan policies. I wonder does the diamond's supposed curse have that same oppressive purpose.
This is not the stone spoken of in the film "Titanic" or in Britney Spears' "Ooops! I Did It Again," I think. First, they never call it "the heart of the ocean." Second, there is no indication that it was lost in the 1910s.

Father Struck It Rich and The Curse of the Hope Diamond
$25.95
This book was somewhat labored and I did skip over parts of it because at times it was annoying - she was a very spoiled woman. However, the last chapters were worth the reading since she finally came to the conclusion that all of the money she had at her disposal through her father's and husband's millions did not serve her well. She realized she had no work ethic and had basically wasted the inheritances and her life. I read this in conjunction with a book on Chipeta, a Native American Ute woman who was driven from her homelands by miners like Evalyn's father and it made for a very interesting contrast. Whereas Evalyn is spoiled, manipulative and self-centered Chipeta is gracious and serves others her whole life even though she has been ill-treated by the whites.

Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem
$14.95
This was a great book - fascinating and so interesting. I had to read it for a class, but I personally enjoyed it.