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Julia Flynn Siler

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Julia Flynn Siler
Born(1960-03-25)March 25, 1960
Palo Alto, California
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • author
Notable works
  • The House of Mondavi
  • Lost Kingdom
SpouseCharles (Charlie) Siler
Website
juliaflynnsiler.com

Julia Flynn Siler is an American journalist and author known for her narrative nonfiction books about American history and business. Her works include The House of Mondavi (2007), about the Mondavi wine dynasty; Lost Kingdom (2011), about the overthrow of Hawaii's last queen; and The White Devil's Daughters (2019), which chronicles the fight against human trafficking in San Francisco's Chinatown. A graduate of Brown University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, Siler worked as a staff correspondent for BusinessWeek magazine and The Wall Street Journal. She continues to contribute to various publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Her books have received multiple accolades, including being named finalists for the Gerald Loeb Award and James Beard Foundation Awards, and appearing on The New York Times bestseller list. In 2025, she will serve as a visiting scholar at Oxford University through the Next Horizons program at Harris Manchester College and the Rhodes House.

Early life and career

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Born in Palo Alto, California, in 1960, Siler grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and received a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Brown University in 1982, a master's from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1985, and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1991.[1] While on assignment in London for BusinessWeek magazine, she did additional postgraduate work at the London School of Economics.[1] She was a staff correspondent for BusinessWeek magazine in Los Angeles, Chicago, and London, and a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal in London. She has been a longtime contributor to The Wall Street Journal from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The House of Mondavi

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In 2004, Siler wrote a front-page article for The Wall Street Journal titled, "Inside a Napa Valley Empire, a Family Struggles With Itself,[2]" about how brothers Robert and Peter Mondavi's past battles imperiled the Robert Mondavi wine empire in California. In 2007, Siler published The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, a nonfiction account of four generations of the Mondavi family. The House of Mondavi concerns a repeating pattern of sibling conflict in a family wine business. The book details the 2004 board coup that led to the breakup and the forced sale of the publicly-traded Robert Mondavi company. The House of Mondavi revealed that patriarch Robert Mondavi's philanthropic gifts to the University of California at Davis and elsewhere had led to a personal financial crisis for the company, which was one of the factors leading to its $1 billion takeover.[3]

The book was a finalist for a Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial journalism in the category of business books in 2008.[4] It was also a James Beard Foundation finalist that year in the category of books on wine and spirits.[5] BusinessWeek picked it as one of the top ten business books of the year for 2007.[6] New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov wrote about it: “Call it Greek tragedy or Shakespearean drama, Biblical strife, Freudian acting out or even soap opera. You wouldn’t be exaggerating, and you wouldn’t be wrong."[7] It also received criticism for focusing on the salacious.[8]

Lost Kingdom

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In 2011, Siler published Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America's First Imperial Adventure, a narrative history of the overthrow of Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani. Lost Kingdom was a 2011 Northern California bestseller.[9] It was also a New York Times bestseller.[10] In Fortune magazine, Nin-Hai Tseng wrote “The story of an island grappling to hold onto traditions in the face of burgeoning capitalist powers…Siler gives us a riveting and intimate look at the rise and tragic fall of Hawaii’s royal family."[11] Siler was an expert on Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani interviewed for the PBS American Masters series, Unladylike, in 2020.[12]

The White Devil's Daughters

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In May 2019, Alfred A. Knopf, a Penguin Random House imprint, published The White Devil’s Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown, a narrative history of the trafficking of Asian girls and women that flourished in the West during the first hundred years of Chinese immigration. The book focuses on San Francisco’s Occidental Mission Home, a  “safe house” that opened in 1874 for enslaved and vulnerable Chinese women and girls. The book also shines a light on Donaldina (Dolly) Cameron, who rescued more than 60 mostly Chinese girls, women and babies to a shelter in San Anselmo.[13]

Siler “vividly recounts a shocking episode from America’s past in this gripping history,” wrote Publishers Weekly. "It will fascinate readers interested in the history of women, immigration, and racism.” [14] In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews called The White Devil's Daughters "An accessible, well-written, riveting tale of a dismal, little-known corner of American history."[15] The White Devil's Daughters was selected as an Editors' Choice pick by the New York Times Book Review.[16] The Commonwealth Club of California named The White Devil's Daughters as a finalist for a 2019 California Book Award,[17] and The California Independent Bookseller Alliance granted 2019 "Golden Poppy" awards to The White Devil's Daughters in the non-fiction and regional categories.[18]Siler was an expert interviewed about Tye Leung Schulze, the first Chinese American woman to vote, for the PBS American Masters series, Unladylike, in 2020.

Siler has written about her own journey to becoming a late-in-life competitive rower after undergoing brain surgery for National Geographic, about the survival of the banyan tree in Lahaina after the 2023 fire in The New York Times, and is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal’s books section. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and is co-director of nonfiction for the Community of Writers. In 2025, Siler will be a visiting scholar at Oxford University as part of Next Horizons, a program of Harris Manchester College and the Rhodes House.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Contemporary Authors Online". Biography in Context. Gale. 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  2. ^ Siler, Julia Flynn (2004-06-04). "Inside a Napa Valley Empire, a Family Struggles With Itself". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  3. ^ "How the Mondavis Lost an Empire". The Wall Street Journal. June 15, 2007. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "2008 Finalists". Gerald Loeb Awards. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Awards". James Beard Foundation. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  6. ^ "Best Business Books of 2007". James J. Hill Center. December 7, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  7. ^ Asimov, Eric (2007-06-20). "Grapes and Power: A Mondavi Melodrama". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  8. ^ Carson, L. Pierce (June 19, 2007). "New Mondavi book focuses on the salacious". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  9. ^ Jeanne Cooper (September 7, 2012). "Queen Lili'uokalani's legacy continues to inspire". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  10. ^ "Travel Books: Best Sellers". The New York Times. July 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  11. ^ "Hawaii's lost kingdom". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  12. ^ "She was the first Chinese American woman to vote in the U.S." PBS. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  13. ^ "Seeking Shelter in Marin: Chinatown Refugees After the 1906 Earthquake". April 19, 2019.
  14. ^ "The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Against Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  15. ^ "The White Devil's Daughters". Kirkus Reviews. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. ^ "12 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. June 27, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "California Book Awards". Commonwealth Club. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  18. ^ "Golden Poppy Awards". California Independent Booksellers Alliance. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
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