Peanuts are nutritionally dense, loaded with both protein and fat. And history and slavery, it turns out.
Such a valuable and popular crop made its way to the kitchens of Europe and the rest of the world through the hands of slaves, playing a part in slavery surviving into the 20th century.
Journalist Jori Lewis, who covers agriculture and the environment, unfolds the complicated story in her book Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History.
This work of narrative nonfiction takes readers to Africa and imperial French colonies in search of the true story of a beloved nut, and the hated practices that produced it.