Peppermint Kings

"[The history of peppermint oil] is meticulously surveyed in historian Dan Allosso's unconventional book Peppermint Kings. . . .Allosso's history of a forgotten product and a neglected business serves as an example of how historians can explore forgotten topics."—Jeff Bremer, Annals of Iowa

“Peppermint Kings is an original and compelling story that makes for an important addition to American agricultural history.”—William Kerrigan, author of Johnny Appleseed and the American Orchard: A Cultural History

“In this lively and interesting portrait of the Peppermint Kings, Dan Allosso offers new insights into early American agriculture in the Northeast.”—Cindy Ott, author of Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon

“Peppermint Kings is a crisply written, fast-paced, and expertly crafted narrative of how rural people grappled with the momentous changes of an emerging capitalist order.”—David Vaught, author of The Farmer’s Game: Baseball in Rural America

"Although “peppermint kings” sound like fairytale characters, Dan Allosso tells the real-life stories of these men. This fascinating journey across nineteenth-century rural America shows how such individuals decisively shaped U.S. history."—Edward Melillo, author of The Butterfly Effect: Insects and the Making of the Modern World