Napa

Conaway ( The Kingdom in the Country ), here tells the history of Napa Valley wines and the development of wine-drinking in America. He relates the stories of those colorful individuals who settled in the California valley for its beauty and quiet, but were drawn by the favorable conditions into the competition to make a better wine. His other tales are of ``development'' itself, which has spoiled and polluted the area's natural beauty, and has pitted neighbor against neighbor in a political struggle to stop ``progress'' and prevent corporate takeovers of the wine industry. A tale of violence this is not, but a little creeps into some of the stories, mortals being less perfectible than wine. This lively history should have wide appeal. Photos. (Oct.)