Benjamin Wallace (1)

I love mysteries and I love true crime non-fiction. So, I thought this book would be a perfect fit for my interests. While I enjoyed seeing the story of the Jefferson bottles of wine unfold, I wasn't a big fan of how the book was paced.

The first thing readers should know is that this book tells more than just the story of the mystery behind the wine supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. It discusses the world of wine collecting, provides insight into the motivations of wealthy wine collectors, and dives into wine sales and wine forgery. I found all of these things interesting even though I'm not a wine person. But, people who are more interested in the mystery aspect of this book may not care for these insights.

The book is lengthy, with a relatively slow pace for much of the book. While plodding at times (especially when it starts talking about the specifics of the wine industry), I thought the slow pace was fine, as it felt like Wallace was trying to build the foundations of his story and build up the story until its climax.

Then, in the last few chapters, the book quickly picks up in pace until its abrupt conclusion. It honestly felt like a bit of a letdown, considering how detailed the set-up of the story was compared to the sparseness of the finale. It was as if Wallace ran out of time to finish the book . This was really disappointing to me because the book was getting somewhere really interesting - it just never got there.

The book started off very promising, in the 5-star range, but ended at a 3 due to the pacing.

For more of my reviews, please visit my blog.… (meer)

Loved this book. Fascinating story/mystery about a bottle of wine purported to have been originally bought by Thomas Jefferson. It's sale at Christie's Wine Auction in 1985 set a new record when it went for $156,000. But...the questions start? Was it truly an old wine? Wallace tells an interesting story full of mystery and intrigue and I was introduced to the world of 'wine fraud'. One warning though - I had constant cravings for a glass of wine and have had more than the usual the last couple of days. So be sure to stock up on some nice wines when you read this.… (meer)