The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty: Julia Flynn Siler
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Call it Greek tragedy or Shakespearean drama, Biblical strife, Freudian acting out, or even soap opera. . . . Compelling.”
—Eric Asimov, The New York Times
“A fascinating chronicle . . . a twisted tale filled with big egos, beautiful backdrops, and charismatic-yet-flawed characters who pull off towering feats and then throw them all away.”
—Business Week
“A first-rate job of creating a balanced view of this epic A merican drama. . . . T he book reads like a novel and her crisp style makes the book compelling regardless of whether the reader has an interest in wine. . . . It’s a great summer read but it also belongs on the reference shelf of any wine library.”
—Seattle Post –Intelligencer
“Explores the Mondavis’ bumpy journey in grand and fascinating detail. . . . Fluid and well-written.”
—James Laube , Wine Spectator
“Epic” —U.S. News & World Report
“A riveting story that is part soap opera, part Shakespearean family drama.”
—NPR’s Day to Day
“Based on exhaustive research and interviews, each page is packed with facts and footnotes which, by dint of superb writing, manage to engage the reader and avoid the data brain-lock that would have plagued a less-talented journalist.”
—Barron’s
–This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
An epic, scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built—and then spectacularly lost—a global wine empire
Set in California’s lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.’s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama.
The blood feuds are as spectacular as the business triumphs. Cesare’s sons, Robert and Peter, literally came to blows in the 1960s during a dispute touched off by the purchase of a mink coat, resulting in Robert’s exile from the family—and his subsequent founding of a winery that would set off a revolution in American winemaking. Robert’s sons, Michael and Timothy, as passionate in their own ways as their visionary father, waged battle with each other for control of the company before Michael’s expansive ambitions ultimately led to a board coup and the sale of the business to an international conglomerate.
A meticulously reported narrative based on thousands of hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is bound to become a classic.