| Title | : | Peppermint Kings: A Rural American History |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0300236824 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780300236828 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 296 |
| Publication | : | Published June 23, 2020 |
This unconventional history relates the engaging and unusual stories of three families in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose involvement in the peppermint oil industry provides insights into the perspectives and concerns of rural people of their time. Challenging the standard paradigms, historian Dan Allosso focuses on the rural characters who lived by their own rules and did not acquiesce to contemporary religious doctrines, business mores, and political expediencies. The Ranneys, a secular family in a very religious time and place; the Hotchkisses, who ran banks and printed their own money while the Lincoln administration was eliminating state banking; and the Todd family, who incorporated successful business practices with populist socialism, all highlight the untold story of rural America’s engagement with the capitalist marketplace. The families’ atypical attitudes and activities offer unexpected perspectives on rural business and life.
Peppermint Kings: A Rural American History Reviews
-
A fascinating and surprising perspective on rural American history. It is a little limited by its focus on particular individuals of this history and isn’t the easiest to follow, but the general facts and ideas presented are invaluable to a greater understanding of agriculture in the U.S.
-
Three reasons I picked up this book: 1) heard the author read the Ranney letters aloud on his Vimeo/YouTube channel, 2) the Hotchkiss name is part of my genealogy, so I needed to follow up my curiosity, and 3) the author's other book on Charles Knowlton was such a fascinating read and I wanted to know more. (The author has also read aloud the Knowlton book--check it out on his video channel!)
This book is an excellent example of using the history of a single concept (peppermint essence) to explore a variety of social and economic issues. Tracing connections and narrating the real-life workings of family and community seemed to uncover all kinds of unappreciated and/or unknown aspects of history that warrant even more reading and study. The sections on Albert M. Todd were especially fruitful in expanding my awareness of this time period and economic/social history in general.
Because this started as a dissertation, there are sections that can be somewhat dry. Yet I still found myself surprised at how much the unconventional interpretations of many of the topics made me want to know more, (i.e. would love to read a more focused study on the Mentha farm that A.M. Todd set up). Hopefully, the author will keep writing and sharing on these topics.
