Thomas Pinney offers a comprehensive exploration of the evolution of wine in America, tracing its roots from early colonial times to the present. The book delves into the cultural, economic, and social influences that shaped the American wine industry. It highlights key figures, significant events, and regional developments that contributed to the diversity and richness of wine production across the country. Through detailed research and engaging narrative, readers gain insight into how American wine has become a vital part of the nation's identity.
The Vikings called North America 'Vinland', the land of wine. The history of
wine in America is, in many ways, the history of American origins and of
American enterprise in microcosm. This title offers a comprehensive account of
winemaking in the US, from the Norse discovery of native grapes in 1001 AD,
through Prohibition, and up to the present.
Rudyard Kipling's autobiography, Something of Myself, was the author's last work, but it has not received the serious attention it deserves. Thomas Pinney's edition of the work, supplemented by other autobiographical pieces, aims to change that. Professor Pinney, a leading textual editor currently engaged on Kipling's letters, has consulted the available source material relating to Something of Myself. He has constructed an outline of the book's composition; described the history of its publication; established a text and a set of variants; and given a critical account of the book's design and its main themes. His annotations to the work (and to the supplementary pieces) identify references and allusions, and provide a biographical context against which Kipling's selections, omissions, and distortions may clearly be seen. The extent to which Kipling's description of his life failed to match what actually happened is extraordinary. Two of the additional items presented here (Kipling's Indian diary of 1885 and the illustrations he made for his autobiographical story, 'Baa Baa, Black Sheep') are previously unpublished. Pinney shows how they, and other forms of autobiographical writing, reflect upon or complicate the narrative of Something of Myself. This carefully prepared edition sheds new light on Kipling as a man and writer.
