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Assassination Vacation | 
 enlarge | Author: Sarah Vowell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $8.12
You Save: $5.88 (42%)
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Rating:  137 reviews
Sales Rank: 966
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 074326004X
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.099
EAN: 9780743260046
ASIN: 074326004X
Publication Date: January 31, 2006
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Product Description
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other -- a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage.From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present at the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue -- it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and -- the author's favorite -- historical tourism. Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican Party became the Republican Party, there are all kinds of lighter diversions along the way into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth-century biblical sex cult.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 132 more reviews...
 A good read, but flawed November 30, 2008
This was the first book by Sarah Vowell I've read, although I've been familiar with her work on NPR for many years. Since Sarah Vowell came to fame by writing personal stories and essays, it comes as no surprise that this book is more about Sarah's personal journey of discovery regarding these three assassinations than a straightforward history. In many ways, I found it refreshing. In the book, Ms. Vowell talks about the importance of pilgrimage and veneration of relics throughout history. The journeys in the book, then, become her own personal historical pilgrimage. Experiencing history from this unique approach certainly warrants a book.
That being said, the book contains a lot of really great information on American history, but includes no references or citations. Since this is work for a popular audience, its not surprising that it's not meticulously documented, but at least a list of sources used in constructing the history would have been nice. History is an easily twisted thing, and I felt that some of the facts presented warranted a citation, even in this popular context.
A quick and highly entertaining read, to be sure, but not without its faults. I found an awful lot of poorly-written or confusing sentences, having to re-read sections to make sure I knew what was being referred to. Seems to me that there's a very forgiving editor out there.
I'd recommend it for anyone who wants a fun take on history... but if you're used to reading scholarly work you might find some things a bit irritating.
 A little goes a long way November 30, 2008
The book made me laugh out loud, but the NPR-approved author is glib, always nervously searching for her next punchline, or attempting to insert a proud, treacly story about her nephew Owen.
I love me some liberals and consider myself one, but Vowell is the type who is off the charts nuerotic and nerdy; every bit as grating as her pinched voice suggests. While learning many interesting details about assassination history, an image is assembed of the neurotic author as a nut who doesn't drive (a phobia), has allergies, and is some sort of assassination coompletist. Though the book is at no loss for wit, a reader is always aware how insufferable it must be to be in the presence of Sarah Vowell.
 Fascinating trip through obscure historical byways November 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The more things change, the more they remain the same. So what can we learn from an examination of three U.S. presidential assassinations -- those of Abraham Lincoln, and Presidents Garfield and McKinley? A lot if our guide is Sarah Vowell.
Written in a breezy, entertaining way, this book is nonetheless quite serious. Vowell takes us on a trip through history and also across present-day America, exploring the paths of the men who snuffed out the lives of these presidents, everywhere making incisive and insightful connections. Tying these three presidential victims together is the frustrated and unheroic figure of Robert Todd Lincoln, the dead president's son, who lived into the 1920s, was president of the Pullman Company and Secretary of War and who seemed to show up on the scene whenever a president was about to be assassinated.
I learned so much from this book, that the state song of my home state of Maryland is in fact a subtle hymn supporting the Confederacy and slavery, that prior to the introduction of income tax in 1913, the New York Customs House collected an astounding two thirds of the Federal Government's revenue -- and of course it was rife with corruption, that McKinley changed the way the Civil War was viewed, making it a narrative of "valor on both sides" instead of a struggle to abolish the evil of slavery which is still the way many remember it today. It's surprising how much physically remains from these murders -- body parts of the slain presidents preserved in museums, dusty markers by country roadsides, letters, diaries and much more. I learned that Charles Guiteau who killed Garfield, belonged to a weird sect called the Oneida community that practiced free love without male ejaculation. At his trial, he came up with the great defense that he had not killed Garfield, he had merely shot him. It was the doctors who killed him. It had the virtue of being true. They still hanged him.
Vowell draws interesting parallels between the Spanish-American war and our current Iraq War. And of course, we know that Karl Rove modeled himself on McKinley's political strategist, Mark Hanna.
This was a great read, an intellectual feast and a wonderful trip in the company of an expert guide.
For more on me and my bookThe Nazi Hunter: A Novel go to www.alanelsner.com
One of my favorites November 10, 2008
I received this book as a gift and when I read the inside cover, I knew I was going to love it. I enjoy reading about certain events in history, but a lot of the books written about them are slow reads and dry. This book kept my attention and made me laugh! I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now collecting Sarah Vowell's books. I can't wait to read more..
A Trippy Field Trip Through Assassination History August 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell is a trippy field trip to both the exciting and the mundane locations along the way to three presidential assassinations--Abraham Lincoln's, James Garfield's, and William McKinley's. Vowell, the NPR commentator, is forthright in her disdain for our current president, analyzing her feelings against the backdrop of those just crazy enough to commit murder for their ideology. Vowell is humorous and her opinions are clear without being overwrought, but more than anything she is informative. She's fascinated by presidential history, and reveals details both obscure and eye-popping. Even after reading Manhunt, the excellent analysis of Lincoln's murder by James Swanson, I still picked up new insights from Vowell, particularly the preponderance of evidence against Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who assisted the fleeing John Wilkes Booth. The life of Garfield's killer, Charles Guiteau, is explored and the reader is acquainted with the odd Oneida Community cult of the 19th century. Guiteau was a frustrated failure at this free-sex community where he was often referred to as "Get Out" by the non consenting ladies. Finally, McKinley's murder in Buffalo (by Leon Czolgosz) is explored, a story which features the assassin's punch-out by a waiter and the dramatic ride of Theodore Roosevelt from the crest of the Adirondacks to take command of the country. A great read through-and-through, Assassination Vacation scores an A-.
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