Posts by Julia Flynn Siler
The George Town Club – and my first taste of Continuum
These lucky few at the George Town club were the first on the East coast to sip the latest Mondavi creation — the coveted Continuum. A few months ago, I received a politely-worded invitation to visit the George Town Club in Washington, D.C., to speak about my book, The House of Mondavi. The organizer of…
Read MoreThe James Beard Awards
Above, the author (center), her sister and her husband celebrate in style at the James Beard Awards ceremony. Below, Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery share the award with the sweetest of their creations. (Tartine photo from Gothamist.com) It was hard to escape “Sex and the City” even at the black-tie 2008 James…
Read More“Sex and the City?” Please don’t forget me!
Who knew such a dainty garden setting would occasion talk of “the two Ls”? I’ve met a lot of wonderful people while touring to promote the paperback release of The House of Mondavi, but surely one of the most memorable was Helen Dufficy. Helen, a lively 91-year-old who lives in a retirement community called The…
Read MoreMargaret Mitchell: The Inspiring True Tale of a “Girl Reporter” Turned Bestselling Author
Above, Margaret Mitchell at the typewriter she used to write the masterpiece that became one of the most beloved novels — and movies — of the 20th century. Photo of Mitchell from Wikipedia.org; poster image from Jamd.com One of the most uplifting stories I’ve come across recently is that of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone…
Read MoreAllegro Romano
Although on this visit there were no San Francisco mayors at Allegro Romano, there were plenty of people to meet and greet. Photo from Allegro Romano Allegro Romano, a small Italian restaurant on San Francisco’s Russian Hill, is the setting for a key scene in The House of Mondavi. The restaurant was where Timothy Mondavi…
Read MoreRobert G. Mondavi, 1913-2008
Robert Mondavi as Bacchus, with wife Margrit. Photo: Avis Mandel for Pate International During the three years it took to research and write The House of Mondavi, I interviewed hundreds of people, poured through legal and corporate documents, and studied old photographs from high school yearbooks and other fragments of the past, searching for clues…
Read MoreThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
President John F. Kennedy plays with children John. Jr., and Caroline in the Oval Office in October 1962, above, while below, his motorcade approaches Dealey Plaza in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Top photo from historyplace.com; bottom photo Walt Sisco, photographer/Courtesy The Dallas Morning News I can’t remember the last time I choked up with…
Read MoreBook Tour Blues, as sung by Tony Horwitz
Tony Horwitz: His blog details the “voyage long and strange” that is a book tour.Photo from voyagelongandstrange.com I hit a low point on my first tour for The House of Mondavi on one of those days that come so seldom to Chicago. It was last June and the weather felt balmy, with the last burst…
Read MoreChristina Meldrum and Madapple
Christina Meldrum I read the galleys of my friend Christina Meldrum’s stunning debut novel, Madapple, over a single, rainy afternoon a few months ago. I refused to get up off the couch, despite the requests of my husband and sons, until I’d finished the last page. What a book! I truly couldn’t put it down.…
Read More“Friend-raising” for our public libraries?
Above, an invitation to Burlingame’s library fundraiser … Image from wincountrygetaways.com … While in Salinas in 2004, readers protest “death of the libraries.” Photo from indymedia.org On Saturday, May 3, the Burlingame Public Library Foundation hosted a lunch that was as much about building community as it was about raising funds. As one of the…
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