While people know Ian Fleming for his James Bond series, he also published a handful of non-fiction works. In 1957, Fleming published The Diamond Smugglers, one of these factual novels. The novel focuses on an international team that was formed to stop diamond smuggling in Africa, and I found it to be a pretty enjoyable read. The book may be nearly 70 years old, but I think that there’s still some merit to it.
What is The Diamond Smugglers?
The Diamond Smugglers is an account of John Blaize (cover name for John Collard). Collard was an MI5 and MI11 agent during WW2, and did a lot of interesting things. Due to his skills, was recruited into the International Diamond Security Organization (IDSO) in the early 1950s. The IDSO was formed in the mid 1950s by the De Beers diamond company, as a way to stymy diamond smuggling at their mines in Africa. It was headed by former MI5 head, Percy Sillitoe (such a goofy name).
The book came about after Fleming published Diamonds are Forever, the 4th Bond book. Collard read the book, and ended up writing an article about how diamond smuggling was much different than the book portrayed. Fleming read a copy of the manuscript, and wanted to meet Collard. This sets up The Diamond Smugglers, as the book is told as a series of interviews with Collard in Tangiers.
The Diamond Smugglers was initially published as a series of articles, but was eventually compiled into a book. The copy that I read was a 1964 Collier Books paperback printing, and cost $.95 new in 1964 ($9.66 in 2024 bucks).
Rather than try to summarize the plot, I’m just going to be touching on some interesting parts. The book is a short read, and if you can find a copy, I’d recommend it.
Setting the Stage
Well, I was not familiar with African diamond smuggling of the 1950s. For someone my age in the 21st century, diamond smuggling brings up images like something out of Blood Diamond. Bloody shootouts, crazy chases, and things of that nature. Well, in the 1950s, it was much, much less violent.
A large chunk of The Diamond Smugglers features no violence like what we’d normally think. While diamond smuggling was a massive thing happening in the 1950s, it was so prevalent due to the lack of serious punishment for the crimes. Generally speaking, it was light prison time, and sometimes a fine. Most folks did not serve full sentences, and went right back to smuggling. Why commit acts of violence if you can be back out and at it again in 2 months?
A lot of what IDSO did was networking. They needed to be able to work with the local law enforcement, the diamond corporation and mining staff, and the smugglers. Very quickly, they learned that without some degree of local cooperation, they’d get nowhere. A lot of the smuggling was being done by corrupt LEOs and diamond staff, who would ferry diamonds to smugglers, who’d get them to the US or Europe.
What were some of the hijinks that the IDSO crew got into?
A Diamond Plane, Shipping to America, and Buying Them Back
Adorned on the cover of my copy of this book is a crashed plane, with a bucket of diamonds nearby. This ties into the tale of a mine worker who hid diamonds on lands owned by the mine. He couldn’t smuggle the diamonds out when his contract was up, so he buried them on a coastal beach. He charted a plane to fly him out there to pick them up. The pilot managed to land on the beach, but the takeoff didn’t go as well. Both were caught, but again, had minimal penalties.
While seemingly boring, I really liked the chapter about shipping diamonds to the US. In the 1950s, as long as the value of the diamonds shipped to the US was less than $20 per parcel, they would just clear customs. A smuggler in the US was just paying people in Africa to mail diamonds to him, and the IDSO really couldn’t do anything about it. When it comes to how tight USPS is in 2024, I really find this chapter quite funny.
A lot of what IDSO did was flip smugglers into white market smugglers. They could buy the diamonds for cheap from black market smugglers, and just re-sell them on the white market. Now, IDSO wanted to do this before they got to Europe, to maintain prices. There are 3 chapters in which IDSO operatives worked with both legal and illegal diamond dealers, and it really highlighted that as long as folks made money, they were willing to be above board.
While the stories are fun to hear, what really makes them work is the writing.
Fleming, Ian Fleming
The introduction to The Diamond Smugglers was written by Collard himself. Well, John may have been an impressive agent, but he was not a writer. It is rough to read, with long sentences and poor grammar. I had concerns when starting the book, but when the Fleming sections started, I was relieved.
Ian Fleming knew how to write. He’s one of the best selling authors of all time for a reason. Fleming made the book feel like a conversation, rather than a retelling. I did not have any issues with turning pages, as Fleming’s style mixed with the interesting topic kept it quite fresh for me. Much like Hemingway, Fleming could paint a picture in your mind, with smells, sights, and sounds.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve not actually read the Fleming-penned Bond books yet. I’ve got them all, just a matter of getting into them. Needless to say, I’m excited after seeing Fleming’s prose in this novel.
The Verdict
The Diamond Smugglers was a pleasant surprise. It was a short read, but an interesting one to check out. Learning about the early days of the illicit diamond trade was cool, even if it wasn’t as high-key as it would be in the decades to follow. I’d easily recommend giving this one a read.
I made a short video on the book too! Take a look if you’d like!
Book Recommendations & Patreon Link
Listed below are books that I’ve previously reviewed, and would recommend to you:
- Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway – Jon Parshall & Tony Tully
- The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors – James D. Hornficsher
- With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa – E.B. Sledge
- China Marine: An Infantry’s Life After World War II – E.B. Sledge
- New Rules For War: Victory In The Age Of Durable Disorder – Sean McFate
- Black Hawk Down – Mark Bowden
- Generation Kill – Evan Wright
- Fatal Victories – William Weir
- Stressfire: Volume 1 – Massad Ayoob
If you’d like to support me on Patreon, I’ve got the link for that here. Nearly everything that I do on Primer Peak is paid for out of my own pocket, and my content is not shilled or driven by manufacturers or companies. If you decide to donate, I’d really appreciate it, as it would allow for me to continue to bring you quality work.
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