corner corner Assassination Vacation

Medium

Assassination Vacation
by Sarah Vowell | Travel
Registered by wingcliff1976wing of Regensburg, Bayern Germany on Saturday, May 21, 2005
Average 8 star rating by BookCrossing Members 

status (set by nimrodiel): travelling


5 journalers for this copy...

Journal Entry 1 by wingcliff1976wing from Regensburg, Bayern Germany on Saturday, May 21, 2005

7 out of 10

It's on its way to editorgrrl as soon as Monday.

I enjoyed this book, not really knowing anything about its topic before starting on it. It's something my wife was interested in first — and she's much more the American History nut than I am. But we both liked Take the Cannoli and especially Partly Cloudy Patriot, so we figured we'd give this one a shot. Out of the three, this is not my favorite, but that is far from saying that I didn't like it. The subject matter is quite a bit drier than in the other books, but the author's style helps to make up for it. Also, I really think it helps to imagine Sarah Vowell's voice in your head while you're reading it. For that it helps to have heard a radio essay of hers. 

Journal Entry 2 by MarahSulloy from Regensburg, Bayern Germany on Saturday, May 21, 2005

8 out of 10

Sarah Vowell is a weirdo. An unqualified freakshow. And I love her for it.

She has such an overpowering passion for American history that she terrorizes government workers with her superior knowledge of the heritage sites on which they work. And she knows it's irritating and obnoxious, but she can't stop herself. And that's how I feel about this book. I couldn't stop myself from devouring it in about 6 hours on three consecutive nights. I can't stop myself from recommending it to other readers, either. It's not a book without flaws. The chapter about Lincoln probably could have been its own book and the subsequent chapters read more like essays, but it is consistently entertaining and educational. I went from seriously pondering the frightening ramifications of parallels she draws between the actions of the McKinley administration and the current president to laughing out loud at her petname for Robert Todd Lincoln which reflects his rotten luck (you'll know it when you see it). 

Journal Entry 3 by editorgrrl from New Haven, Connecticut USA on Monday, July 04, 2005

This book has not been rated.

Hardcover with dustjacket received in the mail from cliff1976 in Regensburg, Germany, in trade for A Long Way Down. (I also sent The Girls' Guide to Hunting & Fishing as a thank-you for creating & hosting the amazing Wish List website.)

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.
What do you get when a woman who's obsessed with death and U.S. history goes on vacation? This wacky, weirdly enthralling exploration of the first three presidential assassinations. Vowell (The Partly Cloudy Patriot), a contributor to NPR's This American Life and the voice of teenage superhero Violet Parr in The Incredibles, takes readers on a pilgrimage of sorts to the sites and monuments that pay homage to Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley, visiting everything from grave sites and simple plaques (like the one in Buffalo that marks the place where McKinley was shot) to places like the National Museum of Health and Medicine, where fragments of Lincoln's skull are on display. An expert tour guide, Vowell brings into sharp focus not only the figures involved in the assassinations, but the social and political circumstances that led to each—and she does so in the witty, sometimes irreverent manner that her fans have come to expect. Thus, readers learn not only about how Garfield found himself caught between the Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds, bitterly divided factions of the Republican party, but how his assassin, Charles Guiteau, a supporter of the Stalwarts and an occasional member of the Oneida Community, "was the one guy in a free love commune who could not get laid." Vowell also draws frequent connections between past events and the present, noting similarities between McKinley's preemptive war against Cuba and the Philippines and the current war in Iraq. This is history at its most morbid and most fascinating and, fortunately, one needn't share Vowell's interest in the macabre to thoroughly enjoy this unusual tour. 

Journal Entry 4 by editorgrrl from New Haven, Connecticut USA on Monday, January 02, 2006

8 out of 10

The second book I read in 2006, a reaction to how much fluff I read last year. I love Sarah Vowell on This American Life, yet this is the first book of hers I've read. They were talking about U.S. politics between the Revolutionary and Civil wars on WNYC this morning, and I actually knew some of what they were discussing. (So not the history buff -- but I did visit Ford's Theatre once. All those bloodstains creeped me out.) 

Journal Entry 5 by editorgrrl from New Haven, Connecticut USA on Sunday, February 19, 2006

This book has not been rated.

Mailed to ekgv414 in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, in trade for The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003. 

Journal Entry 6 by ekgv414 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, March 02, 2006

This book has not been rated.

Got this one today. Thanks, editorgrrl! It's up next, after I finish my current book.

And three cheers for the USPS, too, for delivering this book overnight! 

Journal Entry 7 by ekgv414 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Monday, March 27, 2006

9 out of 10

I loved this! It's the first of Sarah Vowell's books that I've read, but I'm a long-time fan of her contributions to NPR, and as cliff1976 says, it's definitely more fun to imagine Sarah's voice while reading.

I look forward to reading some of her other books. I'm lending this one to a friend who's not a member, but when she's done I'll pass it along via a trade or RABCK.

Thanks again, editorgrrl. 

Journal Entry 8 by ekgv414 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Saturday, June 03, 2006

This book has not been rated.

Sending to nimrodiel in Illinois. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 9 by wingnimrodielwing from Evanston, Illinois USA on Monday, June 12, 2006

This book has not been rated.

This got here today :)

Thanks for the RABCK of a wishlist book, I'm looking forwards to reading it as soon as I get the chance. 

Journal Entry 10 by wingnimrodielwing from Evanston, Illinois USA on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

This book has not been rated.

I have been wanting to read this since I read an interview with Sarah Vowell on Salon.com right after it was released. I was amazed at how much and how little of the three assinations I knew about from history classes past. Living in "The Land of Lincoln" I was very aware of the facts surrounding his death, as from grade school on I have been surrounded by Lincoln-isms. The chapters on Garfield, and McKinley's assasinations I found extremly interesting. It was very hard to not read this without imagining the author's voice narrating it. I'm looking forward to picking up Partly Cloudy Patriot as soon as the library has a copy available.

Thanks for sharing this ekgv414 :) 

Journal Entry 11 by wingnimrodielwing from Evanston, Illinois USA on Monday, July 03, 2006

This book has not been rated.

I passed this on to a friend Saturday after a fantastic book conversation ;) 



remove ads?

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.