Sarah Vowell's ASSASSINATION VACATION

Book review by Dennis D. McDonald

Sarah Vowell’s ASSASSINATION VACATION is an unusual book. Vowell’s passion for history comes through loud and clear as does her mordant humor. In the book she describes her personal journey as she researches the circumstances surrounding the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, McKinley, and Garfield. Along the way she discusses the social and political context of those events. This context provides much of this book’s unique character.

She makes no attempt to turn this into an academic treatise. What I found most interesting was that, despite her personal politics, what really comes through is not the politics but how much she cares about the issues and circumstances surrounding these assassinations. She communicates her fascination with American history and what it portrays about our country, good and bad. I wish more people had her intelligence, curiosity, and wit.

Copyright © 2013 by Dennis D. McDonald