From the James Beard Award–winning chef Ashley Christensen comes a bold and revelatory reinvention of Southern food, as told through the recipes and stories from her iconic and beloved restaurant, Poole’s Diner. Ashley Christensen is the new face of Southern cooking, and her debut cookbook, Poole’s, honors the traditions of this celebrated cuisine, while introducing a new vernacular—elevated simple side dishes spiked with complex vinaigrettes, meatless mains showcasing vibrant vegetables, and intensified flavors through a cadre of back-pocket recipes that will become indispensable in your kitchen. Recipes like Turnip Green Fritters with Whipped Tahini; Heirloom Tomatoes with Crushed Olives, Crispy Quinoa, and White Anchovy Dressing; and Warm Broccoli Salad with Cheddar and Bacon Vinaigrette share the menu with the definitive recipe for Pimento Cheese, a show-stopping Macaroni au Gratin, and crave-worthy Challah Bread Pudding with Whiskey Apples and Creme Fraiche, all redefining what comfort food can be. Poole’s is also the story of how Christensen opened a restaurant, and in the process energized Raleigh’s downtown. By fostering a network of farmers, cooks, and guests, and taking care of her people by feeding them well, she built a powerful community around the restaurant. The cookbook is infused with Christensen’s generous spirit and belief that great cooking is fundamental to good living. With abundant, dramatically beautiful photography and a luxe presentation, Poole’s is a landmark addition to the cookbook canon, a collection from which readers will cook and find inspiration, and pass down for generations to come.

Drawing strongly on contemporary sources and illustrated with over 50 pictures this book provides an authoritative account of the history of the showmen and their contemporaries. It maps the history of the spectral opera shows developed by the Poole brothers and Anthony Young.

Monsters are here to stay.--Christopher James Blythe "Journal of Religion and Popular Culture"

In this novel about the post-Wobbly American labor movement we meet the entrancing, hot-blooded Pooles: Cora Elliot, family matriarch and famous Wobbly leader; Reuben, her son, a rabble rouser and unrepentant idealist; and Roselle, Reuben's wife, self-styled princess and "a treacherous woman to snuggle up with." Most old Wobblies have faded away, but passions are still hot, the atmosphere charged with danger, and the memories of Joe Hill, Mother Jones, and Eugene Debs still fresh. Conflict between generations, struggle between mother and wife for the mind and heart of Reuben, their high-tempered populist dreams now failed: the drama of the Pooles matches the spirit of the times in this town called Pismo Bay on the coast just south of Boston. This is an engrossing tale written with panache and psychological precision, reminiscent of the novels of Walter Pater, Ronald Firbank, and Henry James. Volume One of The False Messiah Trilogy. A Raymond Saroff Publication