The Far Side of Eden: New Money, Old Land, and the Battle for Napa Valley

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. 365 pages, 1 map; 24 cm. Near fine. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Age toning. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. "James Conaway picks up the story begun a decade ago in his earlier book about Napa Valley, the premier American wine country and a place synonymous with the good life. By now the struggle over the valley's future has grown sharper and its success more glaring. Awash in dollars generated by the boom economy and the social ambitions it inspired, Napa is beset by too much of a good thing: new arrivals determined to have a vineyard of their own, cult-wine producers in thrall to fabulously expensive 'rocket juice' (cabernet sauvignon) that few locals can afford, established families wishing to hold on to the old ways, and camp followers caught up in the glamour of it all. What has transformed a natural and agricultural beauty spot into a coveted global destination has left inevitable scars, and a small, impassioned band of environmentalists strike back in a way that deeply divides the valley between those in favor of unbridled economic development and those insisting on limits. Written by the author the New York Times credits with 'a Saroyan-like sense of humor and and Balzac-like eye for detail,' The Far Side of Eden takes us to the frontlines of America's ongoing conflicts about money, land, and power to tell a tale that has ramifications for us all. / James Conaway, the author of nine previous books, is a contributing editor for Preservation and a regular contributor to Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, and Food & Wine magazines, among many others." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Fine. 8vo.