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Usually ships in 1 business days | | | | | | When Prohibition took effect in 1920, only a few months after one of the greatest California grape harvests of all time, violence and chaos descended on Northern California. Federal agents spilled thousands of gallons of wine in the rivers and creeks, gun battles erupted on dark country roads, and local law enforcement officerssympathetic to their winemaking neighborsfound ways to stonewall the intruding authorities. For the state's winemaking familiesmany of them immigrants from Italysurviving Prohibition meant facing a crucial decisiongive up their idyllic way of life, or break the law to enable their livelihood to survive. Sosnowski’s intimate history provides us with a new view into Prohibition America, away from the flappers and speakeasys of Chicago and New York, and into the lovely hills and valleys of wine country, where families hid vintages and prayed for the days when they could resume the craft that they loved. When the Rivers Ran Red tells of the extraordinary adventures of the stalwart efforts of immigrant familiesthe Seghesios, the Foppianos, the Nichelinis and the Cuneoswho saved one of America’s most beloved traditions.
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Vivienne Sosnowski | | Hardcover: | 256 pages | | Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan | | Publication Date: | June 09, 2009 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0230605745 | | Package Length: | 9.3 inches | | Package Width: | 6.0 inches | | Package Height: | 1.1 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 43 reviews |
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A parallel history for today Jul 18, 2010
It's difficult to imagine that the American politic would enact something as destructive as Prohibition; difficult until one examines today's political atmosphere and sees the parallels.
"When the Rivers Ran Red" focuses on the wine makers of Napa and Sonoma counties in Northern California, but its story of the Prohibition years is instructive for today, as well as crisply presented. I found it especially interesting how lawmakers provided loopholes in the amendment and subsequent laws that allowed for limited personal consumption and production of wine, which always kept demand alive.
But what was really interesting was how, after years of Prohibition and gang violence and wrecked families, despite the mounting evidence that prohibition itself was the cause of the lawlessness and violence that the Drys prevailed still and pressed on with their policy despite its obvious failure. The author, Vivienne Sosnowski, writes:
"While this wave of crime had been washing through every corner of the wine counties, grape growers and winemakers had also been living with the dire news from Washington that the Wickersham Commission had recommended that the Dry laws should remain as they were."
People were stunned that this commission could conclude that corruption was endemic because of Prohibition, that "special-interest Dry groups had completely hijacked the country's court system," and yet still bow down to pressure from the Dry groups who staunchly believed that Prohibition was actually working! So much like today with powerful, yet minority fringe elements of the Republican Party who pressure policy makers to follow their edicts rather than work productively toward sound legislation. And so much like the present day prohibition against certain drugs.
A good read about a strange and dark chapter in our history.
 WHY DIDN'T I LIKE THIS BOOK BETTER? Apr 15, 2010
I think this book has a lot to recommend it. Vivienne Sosnowski has done a lot of original research about California/s wine country during Prohibition. She has combed through the newspaper files of the era, mined oral histories, and interviewed extensively. Then why didn't I enjoy reading WHEN THE RIVERS RAN RED very much?
My main problem was with Sosnowski's writing style, which seemed to alternate between pedantic and overly dramatic. Her presentation of facts and figures needed some juicing up, while the first-person narratives didn't need additional hype.
That said, there isn't a better non-fiction account of events in this time and place than Sosnowski's, that I know of.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Jan 09, 2010
What a great book. Easy to read. Insightful, accurate and at times, heartbreaking. This book shows that banning things generally results in bigger and worse problems in the system. Makes you think about our current bans on drugs and prostitution, most likely legalizing them will put a lot of dealers and politicians out of job, and would end our gang problems! God forbid!
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Not THAT amazing Dec 13, 2009
On the face of it, this is a book that should have been right in my wheelhouse, yet it somehow failed to engage me. As others have commented, the author seems to go in for hyperbole and the writing can seem strained and stilted... an academic trying too hard for "impact." The advance "reviewer's copy" sure has a lot of editing left to do, just to wring out the bloopers, but that can be overlooked as it is a problem with an easy solution. More important and not so readily addressed by an editor or proofreader, this subject matter -- America's love/hate relationship with wine and other alcoholic beverages, and the impact of Prohibition on wine making, wine marketing and the development of a wine culture in the U.S. -- is more effectively presented in other recent books. I'd recommend a look at Mendelson's "From Demon to Darling." Granted, it has less of the anecdotal, personal backstory that fills "When the Rivers Ran Red," but I found Mendelson's book more entertaining and informative.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
What an interesting read! Dec 09, 2009
Being interested in wines and in wine growing (and history), I decided to get this book for my husband, since it seemed like something he would be interested in. It was really an excellent book which gives great insight into the prohibition and how it affected vineyards in California. Compelling read that is just packed with drama and history put together! I loved how it explained, in very neutral terms, why the political forces passed prohibition, and how it affected all the families in California. Very, very interesting read that I highly recommend!
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