Assassination Vacation

De: Sarah Vowell

Narrado por: Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Stephen King, Dave Eggers

New York Times bestselling author of The Wordy Shipmates and contributor to NPR’s This American Life Sarah Vowell embarks on a road trip to sites of political violence, from Washington DC to Alaska, to better understand our nation’s ever-evolving political system and history.

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

This woman is absolutely hilarious

I don't think anybody realizes that Sarah Vowel was the voice of the daughter Violet in the Pixar movie "The Incredibles." A video essay of hers called "Vowellette" is featured on the DVD, and she is hilarious in it and very smart. Based on that, I am definitely buying this book.

Amazing!

I was shocked -- I usually find Sarah Vowell's voice as soothing as nails on a chalkboard but, not only did I survive listening to hours of her, but I enjoyed the experience. This book has stayed with me for months now and may be the first audible.com DL that I listen to for a second time. Interesting and fun.

Smart, funny and educational too!

I'd give it a 4.8 if possible. I was so happy to find Sarah after enjoying her work on "This American Life". She is very bright and I really like her voice. Author's are not always the best narrators but Sarah is a clear exception. She is able to communicate exactly what she means with her vocal nuances, particularly her highly developed sense of irony. Well done!

OK but Not Great

I really like Sarah Vowell and she maximizes the humor in this book. But when it comes right down to it, her topic isn't that interesting. She writes about street corners and statues of ex and often dull presidents. There is a whole chapter written about her thoughts on the musical "Assassins." I was looking forward to all of the guest narrators (Stephen King, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart & Conan O'Brian) but having famous narrators didn't add much to the story because they all read the lines straight.

A few parts that I did find interesting:
Charles Guiteau's time in the Oneida coop back when they were a sex cult and before they made china; Robert Todd Lincoln as the symbol of doom having witnessed two presidential assassinations.

Assasination Vacation

This was a great read(Listen). Well worth the time. I found myself sitting in my car after arriving at my destination to learn more wacky history as told by the author. Bravo.