num_pages: 336
description: While many cultures eat pumpkin year round North Americans reserve it for a set of beloved autumn rituals that celebrate the harvest season and the rural past. In a fascinating cultural and natural history Pumpkin shows how Americans have used the pumpkin to connect with nature and our agrarian roots--and ironically how this process has revitalized small farms and rural communities.After smashing our illusions about the Pilgrims Ott continues her pumpkin iconoclasm. The pumpkin as symbol comes full circle. --Nina C. Ayoub The Chronicle of Higher EducationAn extraordinary scholar and storyteller Cindy Ott tracks the culture that altered the very nature of the pumpkin--and in doing so tells us a revealing story about ourselves. Not to be missed. --Philip J. Deloria author of Playing Indian 
language: English
title: Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon
publisher: University of Washington Press