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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 973.099 EAN: 9780743260046 ISBN: 074326004X Label: Simon & Schuster Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 272 Publication Date: January 31, 2006 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Studio: Simon & Schuster Sales Rank: 6780 Accessories: Related Items:
Editorial Review: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating: - A Leisurely Stroll Through Historical MurderSarah Vowell's mind tends to wander. My mind tends to wander too. Usually that's not a good combination. When an author tends to go offtrack I get lost but with "Assassination Vacation" it was very easy for me to wander down the path she laid out in the book. In this book she did something too few people, especially liberals such as myself, have even tried to do recently: she made it okay, even cool, to love America. Despite the misery of Bush and his cronies, despite the tragedies ... Read More Rating:  - Ms. Vowell is My Personal HeroI live in Atlanta where the traffic is worse than our on-going drought. I spend 90 minutes a day in the car commuting to and from work. Ms. Vowell's enlightening, witty, and at times bust-a-gut-funny audio CD made me never want to leave my car. Her socio/historical/political satire was a pleasure to listen to. Her observations are still lingering in my mind, long after finishing all 6 CD's. This led me to also order her latest book, The Wordy Shipmates, on audio CD. Rating: - fun and deathVenture into the hilarious world of assassinations. Yes, hilarious. Sarah Vowell, a humorist/columnist/voice of public radio has a morbid interest in Presidential assassinations. She set out to visit various sites across the U.S. that are linked to the assassinations and recorded her adventures in this hilarious travelogue. Vowell brings readers to the homes of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley as well as to more obscure places such as the Mutter Museum which has specimens of John Wilkes ... Read More Rating: - Fluff For History Buffs but...I just finished Sarah Vowell's Assasination Vacation and found it to be more interesting and cohesive than Partly Cloudy Patriot. Vowell wit and inquisitiveness are endearing and the book is a page turner more to find out her next reaction to something rather than to find out what she is actually doing. That said, her leftist, wackily liberal politics get in the way EVERY time she inserts them. And also, despite standing up and shouting her atheism, I don't buy it. I see some inner conflict being ... Read More Rating:  - A good read, but flawedThis 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 ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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