Napa
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Narrated by:
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John Morgan
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By:
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James Conaway
About this listen
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 audiobook, Napa is a must-listen for anyone interested in our country's obsession with money, land, power, and prestige.
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Story
Journalist Maximillian Potter uncovers a fascinating plot to destroy the vines of La Romance-Conti, Burgundy's finest and most expensive wine. In January 2010, Aubert de Villaine, the famed proprietor of the Domaine de la Romance-Conti, the tiny, storied vineyard that produces the most expensive, exquisite wines in the world, received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his priceless vines by poison - a crime that in the world of high-end wine is akin to murder - unless he paid a one million euro ransom.
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Eet waz eenteresteeng
- By J. Cadow on 04-25-16
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Hershey
- Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
- By: Michael D'Antonio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day.
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The Benchmark for Chartiable, Rich Men
- By Boyd Tschaggeny on 01-30-19
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Bitter Brew
- The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer
- By: William Knoedelseder
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The engrossing, often scandalous saga of one of the wealthiest, longest-lasting, and most colorful family dynasties in the history of American commerce—a cautionary tale about prosperity, profligacy, hubris, and the blessings and dark consequences of success. This engrossing, vivid narrative captures the Busch saga through five generations. At the same time, it weaves a broader story of American progress and decline over the past 150 years. It's a cautionary tale of prosperity, hubris, and loss.
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Couldn't stop listening...
- By Jeremy McGough on 11-09-12
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The Unwinding
- An Inner History of the New America
- By: George Packer
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Unwinding, George Packer, author of The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq, tells the story of the United States over the past three decades in an utterly original way, with his characteristically sharp eye for detail and gift for weaving together complex narratives. The Unwinding portrays a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams, its elites no longer elite, its institutions no longer working, its ordinary people left to improvise their own schemes for success and salvation.
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Can't understand the low ratings!
- By Janet Pittman Henley on 05-27-13
By: George Packer
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China's Second Continent
- How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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An exciting, hugely revealing account of China’s burgeoning presence in Africa - a developing empire already shaping, and reshaping, the future of millions of people. A prizewinning foreign correspondent and former New York Times bureau chief in Shanghai and in West and Central Africa, Howard French is uniquely positioned to tell the story of China in Africa. Through meticulous on-the-ground reporting, French crafts a layered investigation of astonishing depth and breadth.
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He knows Both Africa and China
- By Malick Tchakpedeou on 12-01-16
By: Howard W. French
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The Juice
- Vinous Veritas: Essays
- By: Jay McInerney
- Narrated by: Jay McInerney
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than a decade, Jay McInerney’s vinous essays, now featured in The Wall Street Journal, have been praised by restaurateurs (“Filled with small courses and surprising and exotic flavors, educational and delicious at the same time” —Mario Batali), by esteemed critics (“Brilliant, witty, comical, and often shamelessly candid and provocative” —Robert M. Parker Jr.), and by the media (“His wine judgments are sound, his anecdotes witty, and his literary references impeccable” — The New York Times).
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eye opener
- By FlGatorsGuy on 11-16-15
By: Jay McInerney
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Country Driving
- A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 2001, Peter Hessler, the longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, acquired his Chinese driver's license. For the next seven years, he traveled the country, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming China.
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Pass the white rice please
- By Nick on 02-18-10
By: Peter Hessler
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The King of California
- J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire
- By: Mark Arax, Rick Wartzman
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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J. G. Boswell was the biggest farmer in America. He built a secret empire while thumbing his nose at nature, politicians, labor unions, and every journalist who ever tried to lift the veil on the ultimate "factory in the fields". The King of California is the previously untold account of how a Georgia slave-owning family migrated to California in the early 1920s, drained one of America 's biggest lakes in an act of incredible hubris and carved out the richest cotton empire in the world.
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Interesting story of California Ag history
- By Jean on 08-11-14
By: Mark Arax, and others
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Strange Stones
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage - a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions.
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funny, entertaining
- By Katherine on 08-02-13
By: Peter Hessler
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Where I Was From
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In her moving and insightful new book, Joan Didion reassesses parts of her life, her work, her history and ours. A native Californian, Didion applies her scalpel-like intelligence to the state’s ethic of ruthless self-sufficiency in order to examine that ethic’s often tenuous relationship to reality. Combining history and reportage, memoir and literary criticism, Where I Was From explores California’s romances with land and water; its unacknowledged debts to railroads, aerospace, and big government; the disjunction between its code of individualism and its fetish for prisons.
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California belongs to Joan Didion.
- By Darwin8u on 11-04-15
By: Joan Didion
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In-N-Out Burger
- A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules
- By: Stacy Perman
- Narrated by: Loren Lester
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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It's the untold story of the renegade burger chain that evokes a passionate following unlike any other. In fast-food corporate America, In-N-Out Burger stands apart. Begun in a tiny shack in the shadow of World War II, this family-owned chain has steadfastly refused to franchise or be sold. It is a testament to old-fashioned values and reminiscent of a simpler time when people, loyalty, and a freshly made, juicy hamburger meant something.
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Flowery Promo Piece
- By Melissa on 02-22-10
By: Stacy Perman
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The Billionaire's Vinegar
- The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
- By: Benjamin Wallace
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
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It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie’s of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux - one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson - went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose.
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Not just for enophiles
- By Julie W. Capell on 06-03-09
By: Benjamin Wallace
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The Big Rich
- The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: James Jenner
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Bryan Burrough reveals how four Texas oil tycoons transformed America. Rising from humble beginnings through hard work and shrewd dealings, they shifted the balance of power in American politics. While hobnobbing with movie stars and presidents, the Big Rich also created the legend of the swaggering Texas oilman with island hideaways and sprawling ranches.
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Big, Sordid, Fascinating, PoliticallyCorrect
- By Darkcoffee on 11-09-09
By: Bryan Burrough
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The Path to Power
- The Years of Lyndon Johnson
- By: Robert A. Caro
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 40 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of the rise to national power of a desperately poor young man from the Texas Hill Country. The Path to Power reveals in extraordinary detail the genesis of the almost superhuman drive, energy, and ambition that set LBJ apart. It follows him from the Hill Country to New Deal Washington, from his boyhood through the years of the Depression to his debut as Congressman, his heartbreaking defeat in his first race for the Senate, and his attainment, nonetheless, at age 31, of the national power for which he hungered.
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The Best of all Biographies
- By David C. Daggett on 12-14-13
By: Robert A. Caro
What listeners say about Napa
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stephen J Lee
- 08-30-16
Starts off strong then fizzles
Would you try another book from James Conaway and/or John Morgan?
John Morgan needs to do better with pronunciation
Would you recommend Napa to your friends? Why or why not?
No. It's a long dull look into the nuances of county zoning, local politics, and policy; I had been hoping for more discussion of the wines, winemakers, and wineries.
Would you be willing to try another one of John Morgan’s performances?
Maybe for a simpler topic.
Did Napa inspire you to do anything?
No
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- merrell hickey
- 07-19-24
Classic piece of literature
John Morgan reads Conaway's novel beautifully. This piece of America's wine history captivates so visually, you feel as if you are in the California vineyards with the original vintners.
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Overall
- dirtdoctor
- 05-16-11
Very interesting story of the progress of Napa
I am getting ready to visit Napa again and wanted to become more familiar with the history of Napa, including the cast of characters. I wasn't disappointed. By the way, I think John Morgan is probably the best narrator I have listened to, after listening to numerous books. Sorry Mr. Brick, I have a new favorite.
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2 people found this helpful
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- AZ Nana
- 04-04-12
History of the people and issues that built Napa
Would you consider the audio edition of Napa to be better than the print version?
If audio works for your commute or your walk, this one is very well done.
James Conaway tells the story of the people and issues that built Napa.
John Morgan delivers the story with perfection!
Which scene was your favorite?
Tensions between growers and developers, owners and politicians, and locals are all told in vivid detail. Consider the debate about how many grapes are needed to name a wine from Napa ... 75%. Interested tensions in development and preservation of vinyards.
Brings the issues and successes of the area to life.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Robert R.
- 08-15-13
Excellent But Marred by Non-Stop Mispronunciations
If you could sum up Napa in three words, what would they be?
Reader Needs Help
What did you like best about this story?
The general overview of the changes in the Napa Valley into the Napa Valley we know today.
Did John Morgan do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
It wasn't really necessary in this book since he's narrating, not acting the parts.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
No, it was just good backstory and overview to the Napa Valley from sleepy little farming valley to internationally acclaimed wine-producing region, including the players who helped to make it that way.
Any additional comments?
I've been visiting the Napa Valley regularly since 1983 and am familiar with many of the players in this book and the events being shared here. Unfortunately, the narrator doesn't seem to be from the area, nor familiar with wine, and he constantly mangles the pronunciation of literally almost everything, even nearby towns like Vacaville, famous wines like Petrus, the mansion at Spring Mountain Vineyards (Miravalle, which is pronounced Mihir-uh-vye-ay but that he mangles as Mihr-uh-valle), and so on, even among the famous names that most anyone knows. It's both funny and distracting, but overall the story makes up for it.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Emily W
- 11-17-19
Cringe-worthy narration
If you’re going to read a story about an iconic place, for the love of god, learn how to pronounce the names of the towns, the family names and the specific terms related to wine. As someone in the wine business who lives in CA, I find the mispronunciations so egregious, it kind of ruins the book. I’m only an hour in and I’m not sure I can finish listening.
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1 person found this helpful
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- R.E.
- 11-22-16
Incredible story and good performance
As a newcomer to Napa Valley, for me this book has placed so much of the rich history in context. It has sent me looking on side roads for old wineries, satellite maps to find "Rutherford International Airport" and to the St Helena Public Cemetery to see the graves of John Daniel, Robert and Margrit Mondavi, and Andre Tchelistcheff. My only quibble with the book reading is that many of the names and locations are pronounced differently by the locals than reflected in the recording, leading to some confusion as I went asking after some things I heard (e.g., Chiles is pronounced like "miles" not like the peppers). But otherwise a very good performance and a gripping story.
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2 people found this helpful
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- howard bascom
- 08-04-15
Great book/Appalling narration.
After listening to about 60 books in seven months I've noticed something of a pattern. Quite frequently there is a wonderful dramatic narration with pronunciation of words that any educated person would find appalling. On a major level I'm shocked. Where are the producers? Are they unaware of the correct pronunciation of many words or are they too lazy to start the tape over. On a lesser level I understand the source of the errors-while actors sound marvelous, as a whole they are not educated people. What a shame !
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-20-16
Ask if you don't know how to pronounce something.
If you know wine the mispronunciations will drive you nuts. As for content, The first half was terrific. History of Napa and it's pioneers. Second-half went on forever about politics in minute detail.
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