The Spinach King by John Seabrook is about the rise and fall of an American dynasty.
Published in 2025, The Spinach King by John Seasbrook is the exact type of nonfiction book that I love to read.
The Spinach King is a part of American history that I knew nothing about. It also made the vegetables and how they have been grown and processed over the years fascinating.
This book doesn’t really fit into one category. It is part history, part memoir, and part true crime.
The author John Seabrook has been a journalist for years, so he knows how to write a well-crafted, readable story.
The Spinach King is also John Seabrook’s family story, which gives it a personal memoir twist.
You may not have heard of the Seabrook family or know who they are, but they changed all our lives and kitchens in so many ways.
This family was influential for generations in the food industry and the political world. They changed farming in America, but the money they earned bought power and fame, and in the end, ruined the family.
In 1859, Arthur P. Seabrook came to the United States to start a new life. In the course of three generations, Arthur’s small New Jersey farm became the largest farm in New Jersey history.
The Seabrook family, their farm, and their empire changed how vegetables were grown, processed, and sold. This was especially the case with frozen vegetables.
Their impact went far beyond farming and agriculture, though.
In the 1930s, C.F. Seabrook needed roads to move his produce across the state and country. He built roads, and thus began his road to roadbuilding and railroad projects.
During WWI and WWII, the Seabrook family changed because the U.S. needed food. The Seabrooks’ business adapted to the country’s and the workforce’s needs, which were different from those before.
The world continued to change post WWII and into the 1970s. The Seabrooks change with it. They became influential with politicians and stars. Eva Gabor and her sisters, Grace Kelly, and others were well known on the Seabrook farm.
At the same time, however, behind the scenes, the Seabrook family and their fortune were not quite what they seemed.
The Spinach King is their story. From an immigrant farmer to a vegetable empire to the downfall of the family and business.
Mixed in with all that is the author John Seabrook, and how he uncovered the secrets of the family he grew up in.
If you like well-written books about weird American history, The Spinach King by John Seabrook, is for you!
It was a four-and-a-half-star read for me. It would have been a five-star read, but there were a couple of parts that seemed a bit disjointed for me, especially at the end of the book, which took half a star off. But at 4.5 stars, it is still a book I highly recommend.