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The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Audiobook
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Publisher Description
The riveting saga of the Seabrook Family, by one of the New Yorker's most acclaimed storytellers.
The patriarch, C. F. Seabrook, was hailed as the “Henry Ford of Agriculture.” His son Jack, a keen businessman, was poised to take over what Life magazine called “the biggest vegetable factory on earth.” But the carefully cultivated façade—glamorous outings by horse-drawn carriage, hidden wine cellars, and movie star girlfriends—hid dark secrets that led to the implosion of the family business.
At the heart of the narrative is a multigenerational succession battle. It’s a tale of family secrets and Swiss bank accounts, of half-truths, of hatred and passion―and lots and lots of liquor. The Seabrooks’ colorful legal and moral failings took place amid the trappings of extraordinary privilege. But the story of where that money came from is not so pretty.
A compelling tale of class and privilege, betrayal and revenge―three decades in the making―The Spinach King explores the author’s complicated family legacy and the dark corners of the American Dream.
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“Golden Voice Dion Graham gives a bravura performance of the fraught relationships between three generations of fathers and sons…He narrates in a thoughtful style with an intimate tone and phrasing…His delivery elevates the story of rags to staggering riches. Author John Seabrook’s own struggles with alcohol and his candor in recounting his family’s secrets provide a powerful backstory. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
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“A great American tragedy…with shades of Shakespeare’s King Lear.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“Makes for juicy (if at times gossipy) reading―who doesn’t enjoy seeing a house of cards fall?”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A Mylar Miracle-Pack of intrigue, with everything you’d expect from a long-submerged, intergenerational blue-blooded drama.”
— Harper’s magazine -
"A tale worthy of Faulkner…as rich a tale about a troubled dynasty―and father-son relationships―as you will read this year.”
— Airmail -
“Uncovering devastating family secrets…deftly weaving personal and commercial history to document the rise and fall of a towering agricultural enterprise.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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An Amazon Editors' Pick in Memoirs & Biographies
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An AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A New Yorker Best Book of 2025
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A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
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A Town & Country Magazine Pick of 2025's Best Books
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A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month
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About John Seabrook
John Seabrook has been a staff writer at the New Yorker for more than three decades. The Spinach King is his fifth book.
About Dion Graham
Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as Earphones Awards, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, and the ALA Odyssey Award. He was nominated in 2015 for a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Narration. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA degree in acting.