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| The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty | 
 enlarge | Author: Julia Flynn Siler
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $4.39
You Save: $10.61 (71%)
New (40) Used (29) Collectible (2) from $4.39
Avg. Customer Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 4027
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 1592403670
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.766320092273
EAN: 9781592403677
ASIN: 1592403670
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 What a fun book December 23, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a Napa resident and someone somewhat familiar with the characters from the valley identified in this Mondavi family history, this was a very fun book, though sad as can be. One always thinks that the dysfunction in their family is unique, and here they are, a famous wine family on a course of self-destruction all because on matriarch chose to favor one son over the other. As they say: the apples do not fall far from the tree. Very sad, but well written and beautifully read on the audio version I listened to.
 House of Boredom December 20, 2007
0 out of 10 found this review helpful
Term Paper would be a good title for this book, a read for people who want to feel like they know everything about the wine industry to impress their friends over dinner. This is too long, too dry - pardon the pun - and reads like a homework assignment for a college course.
Compelling October 26, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Once you start reading the story of this astonishingly dysfunctional family, you will not want to put it down; I was completely gripped by the decades of strum and drang. The book is not only a reporting tour de force -- Siler managed to persuade almost every member of this famously close-mouthed family to talk to her -- but it's also written with just the right blend of empathy,objectivity and insight. You don't need to be in business or know much about wine to enjoy it. But it's surely a must-read cautionary tale for anyone with a family business.
 What a Whine October 7, 2007
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
Don't waste your time unless you would enjoy a tiresome Wall Street Journal account about a dysfunctional family consumed by ego and greed.
 Fascinating story, mediocre writing September 30, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
There are quite a few biographies and histories of the California wine industry, and this certainly ranks as the most accurate describing the Mondavis. The story of the Mondavis is both a classic and a soap opera. I indulge both kinds of stories, so I was fascinated by the rise of the wine empires of the Mondavi family, and enjoyed the cold detail of cheating spouses, wayward children, and family fights and lawsuits. But Julia Flynn Siler is an inelegant writer, and she rarely succeeds at bringing you into the moment. I empathize, and she warns you that she has spent more than 500 hours interviewing Mondavis and their entourage, and spent countless hours reviewing tens of thousands of court documents. But, given the opportunity to create a compelling narrative, she instead falls back on reciting the history. Too bad.
It seems as if the editors phoned it in. I didn't find the plethora of typos mentioned in another review, but the awkward phrasing remained, and I rewrote many passages in my head (and, believe me, I'm no writer) to get me through one page or another. For instance, if you removed the phrase "As well" that started so many sentences, the book would be 20 pages shorter, and improve the flow without damaging the syntax.
Read the book, and then wait for the more readable and enjoyable book that's based on this one.
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