Books by Matthew Gavin Frank

'Ghost towns, corporate cruelty, the centuries-old relationship between humans and a species almost magical in its abilities ... fabulous.' The New York Times'A beautifully written book on diamond smuggling, the universe, life and much of what lies in between.' Toby Muse, author of Kilo: Life and Death Inside the Secret World of the Cocaine CartelsFor nearly 80 years, a huge portion of coastal South Africa was closed off to the public. With many of its pits now deemed "e;overmined"e; and abandoned, journalist and author Matthew Gavin Frank set out across the infamous Diamond Coast to investigate an illicit trade - the smuggling of diamonds by carrier pigeon - that supplies a global market.Uncovering a long overlooked truecrime story dating back to the founding of the De Beers corporation, and blending elements of reportage, memoir and legend, he weaves interviews with local diamond divers, who extract mineral wealth from the seabed by day and raise pigeons in secret by night, with harrowing anecdotes from former heads of security, environmental managers, and vigilante pigeon hunters.A rare and remarkable portrait of exploitation and greed, Flight of the Diamond Smugglers reveals how these feathered bandits became outlaws in every mining town.'Unforgettable. ... An outstanding adventure in its lyrical, utterly compelling, and heartbreaking investigations of the world of diamond smuggling.' Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of Oceanic and World of Wonders'A lyrical portrait of a resilient species caught in the grinding gears of a cruel industry of extraction and exploitation.' Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief

After eight months in his childhood home helping his mother through cancer, Matthew Frank and his wife were desperate for comfort. They found sanctuary in the most unlikely place - amid a collection of outcasts and eccentrics on a ""mostly medical"" marijuana farm in California. Pot Farm details the strange, sublime, and sometimes dangerous goings-on at Weckman Farm.

After a childhood of microwaved meat and saturated fat, Matthew Gavin Frank got serious about food. His ""research"" ultimately led him to Barolo, Italy (pop. 646), where, living out of a tent in the garden of a local farmhouse, he resolved to learn about Italian food from the ground up. Barolo is Frank's account of those six months.