Description
Book SynopsisWhile many cultures eat pumpkin year round, North Americans reserve it for a set of beloved autumn rituals that celebrate the harvest season and the rural past. This book shows how Americans have used the pumpkin to connect with nature and our agrarian roots - and, ironically, how this process has revitalized small farms and rural communities.
Trade Review"After smashing our illusions about the Pilgrims, Ott continues her pumpkin iconoclasm. . . . The pumpkin as symbol comes full circle."
-- Nina C. Ayoub * The Chronicle of Higher Education *
"Cindy Ott digs deeply and creatively in furrowing a few familiar and many elusive sources in this major contribution to American agricultural and sociocultural history."
-- Michael Kammen * The Journal of American History *
"If you’re interested in taking a deeper look into the rich history of pumpkins, you will enjoy Cindy Ott’s Pumpkin. . . It’s definitely worth a read. Next time you bake a homemade pumpkin pie, you can serve it with a slice of history as well."
-- Tori Avey * The History Kitchen *
"There is much treasure to be mined from this engaging work of nonfiction, so carve out some reading time, and enjoy a pumpkin-tastic narrative."
-- Jan Johnson * The Columbian *
"Her analysis certainly leads to a deeper consideration of this simple vegetable and how it is that Americans may still consider the country a farming nation, although the number of farmers had declined dramatically. . ."
-- Rae Katherine Eighmey * Minnesota History *
"Cindy Ott presents a fascinating study of America's darling squash. . . . Her thorough investigation of the renowned autumn icon takes a detailed look into American social and agricultural history."
-- Kelly Restuccia * OhRanger! *
"Ott reexamines American history through the lens of the pumpkin. It is an undertaking that is both intellectual and fun."
-- Garry Stephenson * Oregon Historical Quarterly *
Table of ContentsForeword | Not by Bread Alone / William Cronon
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Corn, Beans, and Just Another Squash | 10,000 B.C.E. to 1600
2. “The Times Wherein Old Pompion Was a Saint” | From Pumpkin Beer to Pumpkin Pie, 1600 to 1799
3. Thoreau Sits on a Pumpkin | The Making of a Rural New England Icon, 1800 to 1860
4. “Wonderfully Grand and Colossal” | The Pumpkin and the Nation, 1861 to 1899
5. Jack-o’-Lantern Smiles | Americans Celebrate the Fall Harvest with Pumpkins, 1900 to 1945
6. Atlantic Giants to Jack-Be-Littles | The Changing Nature of Pumpkins, 1946 to the Present
7. Pulling Up a Pig Sty to Put in a Pumpkin Patch | The Changing Nature of American Rural Economies, 1946 to the Present
Notes
Bibliography
Index
