The Wordy Shipmates

By: Sarah Vowell

Narrated by: Sarah Vowell

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The Wordy Shipmates is New York Times best-selling author Sarah Vowell's exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop's "city upon a hill" - a shining example, a "city that cannot be hid."

To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means - and what it should mean. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who were these people who are considered the philosophical, spiritual, and moral ancestors of our nation? What Vowell discovers is something far different from what their uptight shoe-buckles-and-corn reputation might suggest. The people she finds are highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty. Their story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance. Along the way she asks:

Was Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop a communitarian, a Christlike Christian, or conformity's tyrannical enforcer? Answer: Yes!

Was Rhode Island's architect, Roger Williams, America's founding freak or the father of the First Amendment? Same difference.

What does it take to get that jezebel Anne Hutchinson to shut up? A hatchet.

What was the Puritans' pet name for the Pope? The Great Whore of Babylon.

Sarah Vowell's special brand of armchair history makes the bizarre and esoteric fascinatingly relevant and fun. She takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, where "righteousness" is rhymed with "wilderness," to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Throughout, The Wordy Shipmates is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices. Thou shalt enjoy it.

©2008 Sarah Vowell (P)2008 Simon & Schuster

Sarah and Sarah

Only Sarah Vowell can restore intellectual prowess to the name 'Sarah' that the other Sarah takes out.

Ms Vowell's books always end too soon.

Wonderful

Informative, interesting, charming and genuinely funny. Sarah Vowell is witty and entertaining. I love her writing and narration.

A wonderful, if abridged history

The Wordy Shipmates is fantastically written history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and one that is worth a listen if you're a liberal observer of history.

History class should've been this absorbing

I'm ready for the next book! Please Sarah Vowell, get busy falling deeply in love with, and then sharing in gorgeous metaphors and crazy tangential digressions, some new aspect of American history! I love listening to the author read her books. She's a true treasure.

Not as clever as her others

I loved Sarah Vowell's other books. This one goes on a bit too long about, what I found, too narrow a focus. I found it difficult to keep track of the persons discussed, particularly since she seemed to jump back and forth. Listening and not reading may have exacerbated this.

History made accessible

I love her books. This one was seemed particularly timely. We look at the Pilgrims as saints ... she clears this up without taking sides. We are a flawed bunch even from the beginning. Worth the listen!

Intimate History

Do you want to be there when history happens? That is the effect you get when you listen to this book. Outstanding.

Puritan Pilgrims: From Persecuted to Persecutors

Why is it the persecuted are so happy to become the persecutors?

Vowell tracks the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colonists - and specifically their leader John Winthrop - who left England under persecution of religious beliefs and set out to create "a city upon a hill" in what would eventually become the USA. It's interesting to hear how their vision continues to influence America today.

Winthrop was the author of "A Modell of Christian Charity," which can be seen as the epitome of hope and community of the persecuted. His humanity and fatherly kindness put a refreshing face to a group of people synonymous with scarlet letters and witch trials. At least initially. But it's particularly disturbing to see that optimism twisted as he becomes governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by banishing others with differing religious beliefs and condoning the Pequot War.

I'm fascinated by religion, and Vowell does a great job of making the Puritans feel human instead of one-dimensional zealot stereotypes. In addition to Winthrop, she paints intriguing pictures of Roger Williams, John Cotton, and Anne Hutchinson.

It's a thoughtful, fantastic, and pretty funny listen, despite some of the subject matter. If you've ever wondered what happened after that first Thanksgiving, this is a book worth listening to.

Be careful, you might learn something.

I picked this book because I love Sarah Vowell's humor. It was certainly funny but I was surprised by how much I actually learned. The book is an in depth history lesson with a wry humorist as your professor. Loved it.

Different type of book for Sarah Vowell

As a huge fan of Sarah Vowell's books Assassination Vacation and The Partly Cloudy Patriot, as well as her work on This American Life, I was expecting The Wordy Shipmates to include her normal snarky humor and quirky annecdotes. In this I was disappointed. I suppose I should have realized this going in, but there's not much that's funny about the Puritans, particularly when she quotes so extensively from their writings. This is definitely a good book and well-written, but for Sarah Vowell fans, just be aware that it is a relatively somber departure from her other work.