John Seabrook will discuss his book “The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, ” which was chosen by the New York Times as one of the top 10 notable books for 2025. The book chronicles the history of his family’s frozen vegetable empire, Seabrook Farms, exploring its rise as an agricultural giant and its eventual collapse due to corruption, family betrayal, and dark secrets.
John Seabrook is a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, where his writing on technology, music and culture has been widely anthologized. He is also the author of six books, including “Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing, The Marketing of Culture”; the best-selling “The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory”; “Flash of Genius” which was the basis for the film starring Greg Kinnear and Lauren Graham; and the recently published memoir “The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. He and his wife, Lisa Reed, and their two children live in Brooklyn and Vermont.

Seabrook will be in conversation with Ledlie Laughlin. Ledlie and John have known one another since their youth, when the Seabrook’s moved to “Nimrod North” in South Woodstock, VT. Ledlie is an Episcopal priest who recently retired after leading churches in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, PA, and beyond. He has a mix of interests – practicing Zen Buddhism, reading poetry, learning and telling tales about colorful characters among his ancestors. With deep family roots in Cornwall, Ledlie and (his wife) Sarah recently moved to Redding, CT, where they spend time with grandchildren and explore nearby woods and trails.
Books will be available for sale and signing. Registration is required at cornwalllibrary.org.