Taking us from the imperial courts of ancient China to a squalid mine in Burma today, THE STONE OF HEAVEN-now in paperback-reveals for the first time the bizarre true story of Imperial Green Jade, one of the rarest stones in the world, more precious than diamonds, coveted for its life-extending powers and its aphrodisiac properties as well as for its astonishing beauty-a stone that has shaped the destiny of nations and changed the lives of all who have worn it.