This book is a creative guide to the making of arguably the most extraordinary art object to be made in the 21st century. Published to accompany the 2007 exhibition ''Damien Hirst: Beyond Belief'' at White Cube, it gives a fascinating pictorial insight into how Hirst's diamond skull piece ''For the Love of God'' was conceived and produced.

Illustrated with candid behind-the-scenes photographs by Johnnie Shand Kydd, the book includes a number of preparatory drawings by Damien Hirst and a fold-out image of the diamond skull.

Accompanying this is an essay by the art historian Rudi Fuchs, who writes, ''The skull is out of this world, celestial almost. I tend to see it as a glorious intense victory over death.'' A number of leading experts in the fields of archeology and dentistry have also contributed detailed studies on the diamond skull, including analyses of its age and ancestry.