{"product_id":"the-spinach-king-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-american-dynasty-9781324003526","title":"The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003e\"Having left this material for his writer son, my father must have wanted the story told, even if he couldn't bear to tell it himself.\"\u003c\/em\u003e So begins the story of a forgotten American dynasty, a farming family from the bean fields of southern New Jersey who became as wealthy and powerful as aristocrats--only to implode in a storm of lies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe patriarch, C. F. Seabrook, was hailed as the \"Henry Ford of Agriculture.\" His son Jack, a keen businessman, was poised to take over what \u003cem\u003eLife\u003c\/em\u003e called \"the biggest vegetable factory on earth.\" But the carefully cultivated facade--glamorous outings by horse-drawn carriage, hidden wine cellars, and movie star girlfriends--hid dark secrets that led to the implosion of the family business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of the narrative is a multi-generational succession battle. It's a tale of family secrets and Swiss bank accounts, of half-truths, of hatred and passion--and lots and lots of liquor. The Seabrooks' colorful legal and moral failings took place amid the trappings of extraordinary privilege. But the story of where that money came from is not so pretty\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey say behind every great fortune there is a great crime. At Seabrook Farms, the troubling American histories of race, immigration, and exploitation arise like weeds from the soil. Great Migration Black laborers struck against the company for better wages in the 1930s, and Japanese Americans helped found a \"global village\" on the farm after World War II. Revealing both C. F. and Jack Seabrook's corruption, \u003cem\u003eThe Spinach King\u003c\/em\u003e undermines the \"great man\" theory of industrial progress. It also shows how American farms evolved from Jeffersonian smallholdings to gigantic agribusinesses, and what such enormous firms do to the families whose fate is bound up in the land.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA compulsively readable story of class and privilege, betrayal and revenge--three decades in the making--\u003cem\u003eThe Spinach King\u003c\/em\u003e explores the author's complicated family legacy and the dark corners of the American Dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John Seabrook\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/03\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.38w x 1.09d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781324003526","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44135475839113,"sku":"9781324003526","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_b88a5522-516a-4992-8d58-f46842194b6d.jpg?v=1748394888","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-spinach-king-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-american-dynasty-9781324003526","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}