"The Stone of Heaven combines original historical research, a travelogue, and investigative journalism to tell the history of Imperial Green Jade." "Imperial Green Jade, also known as jadeite, is one of the rarest stones in the world. Jadeite is worth more, carat for carat, than diamonds or rubies. Not to be confused with common opaque jade, jadeite has an astonishing green hue, more brilliant and translucent than emeralds." "For almost a thousand years, jadeite has been worshiped and ingested for its life-extending powers, as well as venerated by concubines and used in lovemaking for its erotic properties. Emperors filled their palaces with jadeite jewelry and fought battles for its possession. One eighteenth-century emperor ransomed his entire kingdom for the stone. Jadeite has lost none of its allure in the modern world, and celebrities from Marlene Dietrich to Danielle Steele have collected it."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 387-391) and index.

1. An Emperor's Obsession 2. Lord of the Mines 3. A Jungly and Evil Place 4. The Palace Plunderers 5. 'The Far Off, the Strange, the Wonderful, the Original, the True, the Brave, the Conquered' 6. An Imperial Side-Show 7. Twilight in the Forbidden City

8. Whore of the Orient 9. As Dead as the Moon 10. The New Lord of the Mines 11. Welcome to Jadeland 12. The Valley of Death 13. Romancing the Stone.