The pairing of pie and history is exquisite. Author Rossi Anastopoulo covers significant events in American history and chooses a type of pie that relates to them--pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, sweet potato pie for the Civil Rights Movement, and bean pie for the rise of Islam. She really starts off with a bang, dispelling the commonly held myths of Thanksgiving (deservedly so), making it clear that this book is not for those who prefer their history sanitized. But this book is for those who like their pie delicious. Unfortunately, living in a house with picky eaters and food allergies, my consumption of pie is less frequent than I'd prefer (and I was surprised by her assertion that pie is more humble than cake. She is correct, of course, but I'd not thought about it).

Liberals who like to bake or eat and appreciate learning history accurately will love this book. Others, unless they are open to reevaluation, will be more critical. I was in the "loving it" camp, longing for the return of diners (or perhaps more accurately, my return to the land of diners). #SweetLandofLiberty #NetGalley

An interesting, if very niche, history of America and pie. Very thoroughly researched. I was expecting a bit more of a narrative cookbook, but this skewed more traditional non-fiction. Perhaps my bad for not more closely reading the blurb. Would make a great gift for any history buff foodies in your life.

Absolutely fascinating! The history of food really is the history of a culture and a people. Our quintessential pies--apple, pumpkin, and even key lime--tell our story more clearly and vibrantly than any dusty book. That story has a lot of ugly chapters, but it's kind of inspiring to think that delicious food came out of even the darkest moments.

I loved the variety of pies that were chosen and what they were meant to represent. Some of the "hooks" surprised me. The historical recipes were also interesting and I'm determined to try some of them. I would have enjoyed more visuals--pictures of pies, relevant advertisements, etc--but it was still very readable. This would be a great pick for anyone interested in culinary history, American history, or baking!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I am and always will be a sucker for history through the lens of one dish or ingredient - in this case, it's pie. A word of warning: anyone that can't deal with the fact that food! has always! been! political! or that does not feel comfortable reckoning with the BLATANT, harmful, central history of racism in the United States... well, sure, they'll be disappointed this great work of nonfiction isn't literally all sugar. But that's their problem, and their loss.

Bravo!

I never imagined telling the history of a country based on food from that country. The idea intrigued me so much that I wanted to read this book. I found the history of the various pies quite interesting. I’m constantly amazed at the creativity that is built into people. On the other hand, this book seems bent on bashing Europeans. I do not recall any instances in this book in which Europeans were honest or did anything good. It felt like there is an unfair elevation of, and almost worship of, native Americans and African Americans, while at the same time Europeans were constantly put down. I also did not appreciate the denigration of women who chose to stay at home and be homemakers, compared with women who join the workforce. I was disappointed in those attitudes in this book, but at the same time, as I said, the history of the pies themselves was quite interesting.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

I have to be honest…the cover sold me. American history told through pies? Sign me up! And this didn’t disappoint. If you love history and you love baking, look no further.

You will be taken on a ride through history, and not the whitewashed version you grew up on. As Americans, we need to be taught and understand that the country we have today was built on the backs of others. It was built by slaves on stolen indigenous land, and our history isn’t all holding hands around a campfire and sharing a harvest feast. Pie is a great receptacle for learning about America’s history, including the unsavory past. We have to acknowledge our past to truly move forward, and it’s created so many societal ties in our American culture.

This is a conversational way of getting history to the masses, because we also get great pie recipes throughout as well as at the end of each chapter. This was a humorous rendition of history, along with some great nostalgic recipes! My only complaint was I wanted more, but I wanted it to be less wordy and less conversational, since the narrative got a bit bogged down and felt much longer than it was.

*Thanks to Netgalley and Abrams Press for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!*

American Pie...with a liberal sprinkling of social history.

This was an informative book ,through the lens of pie.
Social history, recipes, and pie. I found I really enjoyed this book.
Recommend.

A history lesson through pies. Each chapter gives the history behind the pies and how they came to be. My favorites are the sweet potato pie and quiche. I have never read a book that combines cooking and education in this format; love the way the author blended the two together and managed to keep it interesting through the entire book. I highly recommend this title for public libraries, academic libraries especially those with a culinary program and just a great read and gift for someone who loves cooking and getting a lesson while they do it.

I love pies, making and eating them; according to my American brother in law, my apple pie is very good and I found it quite amusing because I am Italian! I was curious to read this book and I found it very interesting, I must say some parts were more interesting and easy to read, some a little slow but overall I really enjoyed the book. Now my plan is to try the Hoosier sugar pie!
I want to thank NetGalley and Abrams Press for the ARC

Pies throughout American history. The story of each pie and how they came about and recipes. Beginning with Apple Pie, next is Pumpkin Pie, then Molasses Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Pecan Pie, Chiffon Pie, Mock Apple Pie, Jell-o Pie, Bean Pie, Quiche, and Tofu Cream Pie. A very interesting book well worth reading.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book!

As someone who loves food, and history, it makes sense that I wanted to read a book that connects them. It seems like such a no-brainer topic, but it was something that I had never seen done.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters, each surrounding a pie and its connection to the period it was connected to. For example, Apple Pie isn’t as American as everyone believes. It did come over with the original settlers from Europe. As we know them, apples aren’t even original to North America. Did you know that? I certainly didn’t!

As someone who loves food, and history, it makes sense that I wanted to read a book that connects them. It seems like such a no-brainer topic, but it was something that I had never seen done.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters, each surrounding a pie and its connection to the period it was connected to. For example, Apple Pie isn’t as American as everyone believes. It did come over with the original settlers from Europe. As we know them, apples aren’t even original to North America. Did you know that? I certainly didn’t!

Food lover here, especially of pie and this was a great read! The prose was entertaining while giving history on some of America's most famous pies. The anti-racism slant might be annoying for some who "just wanted to read about food and not slavery", but I thought that it walked a fine line of providing the history and context, without being preachy. Definitely looking forward to trying some of the pie recipes included!

(3.5/5) I've been really into microhistories lately and this book (a history of the United States in 11 pies, ranging from apple pie to Jell-O pie to bean pie) was a great read. The book was well-researched, funny, and insightful, and I loved that it included recipes at the end of the chapters. I may have to try baking a mock apple pie myself, I'm very curious! This book has gotten some hate in the reviews because "I wanted a book about pie and not about racism, etc. etc." but to say that ignores the actual social history of our country and how it's tied into so many aspects of our culture. I thought some parts could use some editorial tightening but overall an interesting read!

Sweet Land of Liberty is a history with some recipes. As a lover of food and a lover of weird deep dives into history, this is definitely up my alley. I appreciated that Anastopoulos acknowledges the limitations of her hook, but really embraces it. Her chapters cover social movements, race relations, gender roles, industrialization of food, marketing, identity, and national mythology as those things play out through pie. It took me a few flip throughs and chapters to settle into what Rossi Anastopoulos is doing here. Sweet Land of Liberty might frustrate readers interested in history and readers interested in recipes, but for curious readers willing to let Anastopoulos do her own thing, this will be rewarding. I have some complaints. I am genuinely disappointed that no recipe for chocolate haupia pie was included, and I would have loved some pecan pie recipes without Karo syrup. Pecan pie is my second least favorite pie because I really dislike the Karo syrup glop (my lease favorite is raisin pie and I will never forgive the person who made that nightmare come true).

Rossi Anastopoulos starts with a politically fraught order of coffee and a slice of cherry pie – ordered by Ezell Blair Jr. at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960. The pie became political and racially charged. Pie has been a weapon, sometimes literally, as when it was used to assault the protesters at the Woolworth’s counter, and in the 1990s and early 2000s when tofu cream pie (Chapter 11) was thrown by protesters. Every chapter was interesting in it’s own way. I would love to see this as a docuseries with each episode focusing on a pie, talking to historians, experts, and the people who make these pies in their homes or bakeries.

I made the sweet potato pie at the end of Chapter 4 – Abby Fisher’s Sweet Potato Pie, adapted from What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking (1881). The cookbook is the first authored by an African American. The chapter on sweet potato pie explores it’s roots in the traditions brought over with kidnapped Africans, and it reclamation by Black Americans. Every other sweet potato pie I have had was spiced with at least cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, but Mrs. Fisher’s pie has none of that, just zested orange and orange juice. It was delicious. The earthy sweetness of the sweet potato paired with vibrant sweetness of the orange was uplifting and homey.

I grew up in a family that really only had three pies – pumpkin pie and pecan pie (the Thanksgiving pies), and the strawberry rhubarb pie my maternal grandmother made with the rhubarb in her garden. We definitely were not a pie crust family -pie crust was something you could buy at the store. But I have spent a chunk of the last 20 years working on perfecting a pie crust so flakey it shatters and melts in your mouth. My grandmothers were professional women ( a psychologist and a librarian/English teacher) who were also expected to cook for their families and they resented it. My love of cooking and baking, my pursuit of the perfect pie crust, my food as a love language is all possible because I don’t have to cook. I am not required by gender or race to prepare meals for other people. The sweet potato pie I made last night was made to make my dinner companions happy, but also a way for me to connect hands on with uglier aspects of my nation’s history and present.

Finally, pie is so powerful because, frankly, it’s pretty unnecessary. Unlike, you know, dinner, we only make and eat dessert because we want to. In times of hardship or stress—everything from war to revolution to poverty—there’s really no point in making dessert.

Rossi Anastopoulo knows, and her book reflects, that dessert is very important, especially in hard times. Pie is joy, love, and comfort. It’s also burdened with symbolism, history and politics. I was reminded of Sarah Vowel’s musings on the Starbuck’s café mocha,

Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey cafe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle’s Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top.

Think about that the next time someone says “as American as apple pie.”

I received this as an advance reader copy from Abrams Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

My sweet tooth has been known to drive my reading selections, and Sweet Land of Liberty is no exception. Rossi Anastopoulo's look at 11 pies and their significance throughout American history is an interesting premise, but for me, it was a bit of a slog.

It's evident that Anastopoulo has done her research as she details each pie and its significance to American history (frankly I had no idea that pies played any part in history). There is also a heavy focus on politics, racism, and inequality throughout the text while the cover belies a more genteel look at American history. While I learned some interesting facts, this is a book that felt more tedious to read than enjoyable.

I'd like to thank #NetGalley and #Abrams Press for this electronic ARC of #SweetLandofLiberty.

A wonderful concept and super interesting book. I also think that the book cover needs it's own round of applause! I would suggest this one to anybody interested in the topic.

Interesting premise and concept --I was intrigued by the cultural use of pie in various historical moments. I really enjoyed it even though I don't even like pie. Haha

Thank you to Abrams Press and Netgalley for this book. This book was a nonfiction book I am trying to expand my reading to read more nonfiction books. This book traveled around saying where 13 types of pies began. I think they stretched it to make 13 pies which make the book longer that it should of been. I did like the recipes.

This book is such a treasure. It’s a delicious history lesson that I would recommend to anyone who wants to look at sociopolitical culture through the lens of food.