Just arrived today. Will get onto this once i finish the Padma Lakshmi memoir (which is terrific, BTW).
Damn you guys! Just cost me four books! I am a sucker for a good book!
FWIW, I tried to start the Hitlerâs Vineyardâs book last night and just wasnât digging the writing style. It just came across as heavy, boring. I sent it back to Amazon today. Not a recommend from me.
Dr. Kelley did imply it was written more like a dissertation (not to mention translated from French), so I imagine it may take a good bit of concentration to absorb. Was it primarily a flow problem?
Just dense and boring, Andrew. I read a lot and I just wonât read stuff anymore that doesnât feel engaging. I assume will like the book but i didnât.
Will let you know how I fare!
Restaurant Man by Joe Bastianich
The Perfectionist by Rudolph Chelminski
The Apprentice by Jacque Pepin
The Art of SQN by Manfred Krankl
Third. It is a great, quick read. For years, Iâd buy anything if it was imported by Lynch. It was bound to be interesting, and sometimes a revelation.
I remember buying that book (first copy of it anyway). It had just come out. I noticed it in a bookstore and it looked interesting, but what sealed the deal is that the publisher is/was Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. They are John McPheeâs publisher, and given how much I enjoy his writing it seemed worth a flyer. And it was. It is one of those books that you pass on to a friend who you know will like it, buy another copy to re-read a few years later⌠wash, rinse, repeat.
Just finished The House of Mondavi. Was generally aware of the story going in, but still greatly enjoyed the read.
Not exactly what you described, but A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle is a great summer read.
I purchased the following books.
Chef, Drugs and rock and Roll - Excellent read. Ran through this on vacation and really enjoyed. also loved piecing together all the pieces from the 70âs.
Dirt - Reading now. Again just what I was looking for. Light hearted but interesting to someone like me.
Hitlerâs Vineyards - Red the first 20 pages then put it down. A little dry.
iâm half way thru chef, drugs. a must read for any foodie. itâs awesome
Just saw this⌠Hitlerâs Vineyards is definitely more informative than it is entertaining, like most contemporary academic writing. But to me, it was gripping to learn the full extent of collaboration and the complex mechanisms by which it occurred. The legacy of this period is still with us in some respects in the French wine world of today (e.g. the CIVC, BIVB which today we think of as trade and press organizations were set up to essentially facilitate collective bargaining about wine exports to the Third Reich; the premiers crus were introduced as a way to prevent regional wines in the CĂ´te dâOr being sold as table wine to the Wehrmacht, etc etc). It also explains some local antipathies one encounters in the region to this day. The Wine and War book, while readable, paints a rather more idealized picture; and it was more as a corrective to the latter that I recommended Hitlerâs Vineyards, as opposed to something one might enjoy on the beach or whatever.
William Kelley sitting on a beach reading his copy of Hitlerâs Vineyards with an ice bucket of Private Cellar Krugs he buys through the illicit underworld is the cover of the new dystopian Netflix Series we deserveâŚ
Just finished reading this, having taken it very slowly (over a month and a half roughly). I found it enjoyable, though admittedly find myself drawn to books written in this style when reading about past events. Overall upon finishing, Iâm not convinced one way or another how to conclude as to the local wine industries actions/allegiances at the time, but rather view it as a very horrible time in the world/France/wine world where it is easier for people to focus on the positive side as opposed to the embarrassing collaboration and appeasement which will never be 100% certain.
Now on to the more beach appropriate new release âGoode Guide to Wineâ by Jaime Goode
Angelsâ Visits: An Inquiry Into the Mystery of Zinfandel
by David Darlington
I was just given Stalinâs Wine Cellar by John Baker and Nick Place. I havenât started it but it looks interesting. I was surprised not to have heard of it before.
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Besides the ones already mentioned, What Makes a Wine Worth Drinking: In Praise of the Sublime by Terry Theise (I donât think anyone mentioned it before), A Gentleman in Moscow (not specific about food/wine, but a great read with a lot of mentions on food and wine, definitely recommend as a light read, particularly if you enjoy historical romances) and A Natural History of Wine. Also, the new book from the Noble Rot guys, while I have preordered and havenât received it yet, I am sure it will be a great one as well.
the raw and the cooked is one of the great all time works of wine and food literature. Kudos to Kermit for featuring Jim