For "Tears of Mermaids," Stephen G. Bloom traveled 30,000 miles to trace a single pearl--from the moment a diver off the coast of Australia scoops from the ocean floor an oyster containing a single luminescent pearl to the instant a woman on the other side of the world fastens the clasp of a strand containing the same orb. Bloom chronicles the never-before-told saga of the global pearl trade by gaining access to clandestine outposts in Japan, China, the Philippines, French Polynesia and Australia. Bloom infiltrates high-tech pearl farms and processing facilities guarded by gun-toting sentries, and insinuates himself into the lives of powerful international pearl lords. Bloom farms for pearls in rural China, goes behind scenes at million-dollar auctions in Hong Kong, trails pearl brokers and Internet entrepreneurs in Asia, hires himself out as a deckhand on an Australian pearling vessel, and goes backstage at Christie's for a fast and furious auction of the most expensive pearl ever sold. Teeming with rogue humor and uncanny intelligence, "Tears of Mermaids "weaves a nonstop detective story of the world's most enduring gem. "In "Tears of Mermaids," Stephen G. Bloom tells the history of the pearl trade down to the present day, focusing in particular on the harvesting and marketing of pearls in today's global markets. As Mr. Bloom makes clear, pearls are still big business, with dealers routinely exchanging hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time for just the right ones. And certain pearls command astonishing prices. One striking quality of pearls, Mr. Bloom tells us, is the aesthetic rapport they form with their wearers, absorbing body heat and seeming to glow and reflect luminescence onto the skin. For millennia, only the wealthiest members of society could hope to know this quality first-hand. And now millions of people can."--"Wall Street Journal"
"a labor of love and obsession. Bloom was inspired by a necklace his mother would wear only on special occasions and wound up traveling 30,000 miles over four years in his quest to uncover info on the global pearl trade and its origins."--"New York"" Post "
"Anyone who's ever dreamed about a string of black Tahitians will be enchanted."--"Publishers Weekly"
"Bloom's love of pearls--which are, after all, "essentially calcium-coated beads"--allows him to draw back the curtain on the business of dealing in them without ruining his or the reader's pleasure in their charms."--"Library Journal"
"A satisfying mixture of history, science and popular culture."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Forget "The Treasure of Sierra Madre"--gold is so boring when it's up against the story of pearls. In "Tears of Mermaids," Stephen Bloom takes you into a world of bravado and mystery as he traces, in a multi-continent quest, where pearls come from. Bloom, in league with writers who go deeper and practice what I call "method journalism," did everything but become an oyster to understand pearls. His passion for the pearl is infectious--it will be difficult for you to put this book down."--Dale Maharidge, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "And Their Children After Them."
"Stephen Bloom takes us into a world so hidden it might as well be underwater. This richly-written book about pearls is about more than the bauble. It is about the human story--both glorious and sad--behind those organic spheres that have been the subject of popular fascination since the discovery of the Americas. An incredible feat of reportage."--Tom Zoellner, author of "The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire "and" Uranium: War, Energy and the Rock that Shaped the World"
