Assassination Vacation

By: Sarah Vowell

Narrated by: Conan O'Brien, Stephen King, Dave Eggers, Jon Stewart

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

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 lighter diversions into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a 19th-century biblical sex cult.

In Order of Appearance:
Conan O'Brien...Robert Todd Lincoln
Eric Bogosian...John Wilkes Booth
Stephen King...President Abraham Lincoln
Dave Eggers...Mike Ryan
Catherine Keener...Gretchen Worden
Jon Stewart...President James A. Garfield
Tony Kushner...John Humphrey Noyes
Brad Bird...Charles Guiteau & Emma Goldman
Daniel Handler...President William McKinley
Greg Giraldo...President Theodore Roosevelt
David Rakoff...Leon Czolgosz

©2005 Sarah Vowell (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Multi-Voiced Performance
• 2005 Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award, Humor

"Vowell has a perspective on American history that is definitely funny." (School Library Journal)
"Wacky, weirdly enthralling....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." (Publishers Weekly)
"An engaging tour....Audiobook listeners get serious bang for their buck, including guest appearances by Stephen King (as Lincoln), Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, and Eric Bogosian, among others." (AudioFile)

A must for anyone interested in history.

Any additional comments?

Sarah Vowell has such a unique approach to history. This book is filled with fascinating details and was a joy to listen to - especially with her reading it.

I love sarah, but...

for some reason, this one didn't do it for me. I love Sarah Vowell, love her quirky voice and speaking style, and lefty, atheist ways. I very much enjoyed Partly Cloudy Patriot, but this one I just never really got into. It definitely made history more enjoyable than usual, but not so much that I was looking forward to each listening opportunity, which is what usually happens when I'm really enjoying an audio book. Still, I look forward to her next one.

A wonderfully humorous, entertaining & insightful look into American history and culture.

A wonderfully humorous, entertaining & insightful look into American history and culture. Sarah Vowell, along with the rest of this Great ensemble, truly bring historical events to life, with a incredible sense of humor all throughout. A Must Listen for your Audible account.

A fun way to learn some very interesting history.

Sarah Vowell make history interesting, personal, and relevant. The assassinations are a way to dig into three important periods of US history.

great book, charming author/narrator

Sarah vowel does a decent job narrating her own audiobook. I personally prefer author read books where I can find them, but I know that style is not for everyone (hence only 4 stars)

Sarah Vowell is one of the best...

It is a true joy to listen to Sarah Vowell narrate her text. Not only is she witty with her words, but her voice sets off her writing in a way that no other could match. Sarah's narration of "Assassination Vacation" makes history interesting and takes it to a very personal level. This is one of the best audio books I have ever listened to.

A little dated now but SO GOOD

This is one of my enduring favorites. Just a little (sorry, this is a lazy and overused word) quirky without being weird. Fascinating history and charming, friendly companions. Great guest spot narrators, and Vowell herself is engaging and wry, a perfect fit. Her political and social commentary seems so mild listening back to this early 00s work, even when she touches on her own family lineage and racial trauma. She describes a little of the real tragedy, upheaval, and suffering without getting either sappy or enraged, but she doesn't minimize the subjects' experience. I think relistening to this book has given me a glimmer of hope--one day, we will get to have a healthier perspective on 2020.

so sad when it was over!

I wish we didn't have to wait on her next book - I want whatever it is NOW!

NPR favorite history buff's best book

Sarah Vowell is the band geek that did good... in a history sense. She is like the funny, offbeat, obsessive young college professor that you had a crush on for pure charisma and infectious excitement about something that you previously thought was dull. You'll learn something new about American History in this book, laugh at and with the narrator, and feel like you just took the best road trip of your 30's. Highly recommended!

Kind-of Interesting

...and a bit strange, which is expected from Ms. Vowel. However, the book is disjointed in an unpleasant way, yet reads like a travelogue, which it is. I felt a little like I was the roadster from monopoly being driven all over a map in a crazy zigzag pattern and in the process ripping the map up a little. I love Ms. Vowell's humor but this was a difficult listening. While her voice is engaging in most circumstances, it was annoying here.