annieb123's Review of Sweet Land of Liberty

by Rossi Anastopoulo

A delicious and delightful narrative history of pie in America, from the colonial era through the civil rights movement and beyondFrom the pumpkin pie gracing the Thanksgiving table to the apple pie at the Fourth of July picnic, nearly every American shares a certain nostalgia for a simple circle of crust and filling. But America’s history with pie has not always been so sweet. After all, it was a slice of cherry pie at the Woolworth’s lunch counter on a cool February afternoon that helped to spark the Greensboro sit-ins and ignited a wave of anti-segregation protests across the South during the civil rights movement. Molasses pie, meanwhile, captures the legacies of racial trauma and oppression passed down from America's history of slavery, and Jell-O pie exemplifies the pressures and contradictions of gender roles in an evolving modern society. We all know the warm comfort of the so-called “All-American” apple pie . . . but just how did pie become the symbol of a nation? In Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of America in 11 Pies, food writer Rossi Anastopoulo cracks open our relationship to pie with wit and good humor. For centuries, pie has been a malleable icon, co-opted for new social and political purposes. Here, Anastopoulo traces the pies woven into our history, following the evolution of our country across centuries of innovation and change. With corresponding recipes for each chapter and sidebars of quirky facts throughout, Sweet Land of Liberty is an entertaining, informative, and utterly charming food history for bakers, dessert lovers, and history aficionados alike. Ultimately, the story of pie is the story of America itself, and it’s time to dig in.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of America in 11 Pies is a well written microhistory of the social growth and development of the USA as related to food, specifically pies curated and written by Rossi Anastopoulo. Released 25th Oct 2022 by Abrams, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an accessible, almost conversational, history of the USA as it intersects pies. The author has included recipes for each of the 11 pies featured in the essays. The history parts of the book don't always make for comfortable reading. I've heard that if history makes you feel proud and comfortable, then you're not reading about history. There were a number of uncomfortable undeniable hard truths included here: namely that the USA was built on the backs of enslaved people and brought about largely on lands stolen from indigenous peoples.

There are careful annotations and chapter notes included throughout, which will provide keen readers with many hours of further reading. Despite being very well researched and annotated throughout, it's not at all academically stiff or formal or difficult to understand.

Although I didn't fully test any of the recipes, I didn't see any glaring errors with a careful read-through. The recipes are written with ingredients provided in a sidebar bullet list. Ingredient measurements are given in both imperial (American) and metric units (yay!!). There are no photos of pies (or indeed anything else) included in the eARC provided for review. The layout of the recipes is easy to navigate and will undoubtedly produce a good pie with care.

Four stars. It's an odd premise for a book (which the author freely admits). I found it fascinating, honestly and unflinchingly written, and in places, quite fun.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Reading updates

22 November, 2022: Started reading

22 November, 2022: Finished reading

22 November, 2022: Reviewed