The New York Times bestselling author of Napa tells the captivating story of how the Napa Valley region transformed into an extraordinary engine of commerce, glamour, and an outsized version of the American dream—and how it could be lost—in “a strong plea for responsible stewardship of the land” (Kirkus Reviews). Not so long ago, wine was an exclusively European product. Now it is thoroughly American; emblematic of Napa Valley, an area idealized as the epicenter of great wines and foods and a cultural tourist destination. But James Conaway’s candid book tells the other side of the romanticized story. Napa at Last Light reveals the often shadowy side of the latter days of Napa Valley—marked by complex personal relationships, immense profits, passionate beliefs, and sometimes desperate struggles to prevail. In the balance hang fortunes and personal relationships made through hard work and manipulation of laws, people, and institutions. Napans who grew up trusting in the beneficence of the “vintner” class now confront the multinational corporations who have stealthily subsumed the old family landmarks and abandoned the once glorious conviction that agriculture is the best use of the land. Hailed as the definitive Napa writer, Conaway has spent decades covering the region. Napa at Last Light showcases the greed, enviable profits, legacy, and tradition that still collide in this compelling story. The area is still full of dreamers, but of opposing sorts: those longing for a harmonious society based upon the vine, and self-styled overlords yearning for wealth and the special acclaim only fine wine can bring. Bets are still out on what the future holds. “This is a stunning and sad look at how an idyllic community became a victim of its own success…fascinating and well-researched” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

James Conaway's remarkable bestseller delves into the heart of California's lush and verdant Napa Valley, also known as America's Eden. Long the source of succulent grapes and singular wines, this region is also the setting for the remarkable true saga of the personalities behind the winemaking empires. This is the story of Gallos and Mondavis, of fortunes made and lost, of dynasties and destinies. In this delightful, full-bodied social history, James Conaway charts the rise of a new aristocracy and, in so doing, chronicles the collective ripening of the American dream. More than a wine book, Napa is a must-read for anyone interested in our country's obsession with money, land, power, and prestige.

When acclaimed journalist Alan Deutschman came to the California wine country as the lucky house guest of very rich friends, he was surprised to discover a raging controversy. A civil war was being fought between the Napa Valley, which epitomized elitism, prestige and wealthy excess, and the neighboring Sonoma Valley, a rag-tag bohemian enclave so stubbornly backward that rambunctious chickens wandered freely through town. But the antics really began when new-money invaders began pushing out Sonoma’s poets and painters to make way for luxury resorts and trophy houses that seemed a parody of opulence. A Tale of Two Valleys captures these stranger-than-fiction locales with the wit of a Tom Wolfe novel and uncorks the hilarious absurdities of life among the wine world’s glitterati. Deutschman found that on the weekends the wine country was like a bunch of gracious hosts smiling upon their guests, but during the week the families feuded with each other and their neighbors like the Hatfields and McCoys. Napa was a comically exclusive club where the super-rich fought desperately to get in. Sonoma’s colorful free spirits and iconoclasts were wary of their bohemia becoming the next playground for the rapacious elite. So, led by a former taxicab driver and wine-grape picker, a cheese merchant, and an artist who lived in a barn surrounded by wild peacocks, they formed a populist revolt to seize power and repel the rich invaders. Deutschman’s cast of characters brims with eccentrics, egomaniacs, and a mysterious man in black who crashed the elegant Napa Valley Wine Auction before proceeding to pay a half-million dollars for a single bottle. What develops is nothing less than a battle for the good life, a clash between old and new, the struggle for the soul of one of America’s last bits of paradise. A dishy glimpse behind the scenes of a West Coast wonderland, A Tale of Two Valleys makes for intoxicating reading.

A mixture of travelogue and personal narrative, James Conaway's smart, informative essays offer an insightful depiction of his journeys between Washington, D.C., and Big Sur, California, as he tries to understand what has become of the places, people, and traditions that were once so precious but have now been irreparably changed. Incorporating the voices of cowboys, real estate agents, activists, and many others, he raises vital questions about the merits of sprawling development and the ever–increasing use of resources in the name of "progress." He urges us to consider the value of preservation in our growth–driven culture, as well as the ramifications of prosperity on the places important to our national identity.

James Conaway knew there was something wrong with his father before he let himself think too deeply about it.The signs were there, in unfocused phone calls and cryptic letters. Then on a reporting trip to his hometown Conaway had to face facts: his father was in the early stages of Alzheimer's, a dreaded illness that inspired this beautifully written memoir of family and the South. As memory left his father, the author was moved to recreate the world they had shared, memory being the bulwark against oblivion.Many of these fragments are outrageously funny. The book takes us back to a society where the rules of southern gentlemanliness were still in effect, if barely. Propriety had always fought a dubious battle with bourbon, and now was being defeated by the likes of Elvis Presley and Jack Kerouc. With rueful wit Conaway artfully renders a youth of hunting and fishing giving way to brawling, debutante parties, and literary exploration. The story's told against a wistful background of an older generation with belated appreciation for its hopes, ideals and diminished postwar reality.Conaway writes of the idiosyncrasies of family life with a keen yet tender sense of the absurd, particularly the sometimes loving, mysterious relationship with his father. Linking the generations is an antiquated but powerful code of conduct, recalled here with extraordinary vividness and humor.Jim Lehrer in The Washington Post - "Profound... hilarious... honest and serious... proof that the gods look more favorably on some writers than they do on others... conaway moves through his family and life in Memphis in the '40s and '50s with the flow and grace of an impressionist painter."Tracy Kidder (Mountains Beyond Mountains, House) - "Exemplary... absorbing... sad and funny... It awakens our own memories, makes our own lives more available to us."Rick Bass (The Ninemile Wolves) "I'm crazy about this book, and implore the nation to read it... about the shuddering magnificence, the depthlessness, of the human heart."

"Napa Valley iconic wineries offers an inside look at some of the world's most beloved wineries, an introduction to award-winning vintners, and interesting details about their signature wines - including how they are made and best enjoyed..." --Front jacket flap.

How do fashions in drinks work, and how are drinks fashions related to changing trends in clothes and apparel? These twin questions are posed and answered by the book Drinks in Vogue. Taking a radically cross-disciplinary set of perspectives and ranging far and wide across time and space, the book considers beverages as varied as cocktails, wine, Champagne, craft beer, coffee, and mineral water. The contributors present rich case materials which illuminate key conceptual issues about how fashion dynamics work both within and across the worlds of beverages and clothes. Covering both contemporary and historical cases and drawing upon perspectives in disciplines including sociology, history, and geography, among others, the book sets out a novel research programme that intersects fashion studies with food and drinks studies.