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jobustitch's review
5.0
Just awesome!!! I had no idea about Robert Todd Lincoln's role as the harbinger of death. It makes me want to jump in the car and create my own assasination vacation. I will now have to read all of her books.
targrap's review
5.0
This book was so funny, I was reading parts of it aloud to the people around me. But beyond being engaging, the book was extremely informative. I will definitely read Sara Vowell's other books.
frostap's review
3.0
I wanted to like this book, but was hampered by a few things.
1. Sarah Vowell and I could never be friends in real life. She is afraid of everything!
2. I would assume a book about presidential assassinations would mention, oh I don't know, the most recent one? Not so! Kennedy didn't make the cut, apparently.
3. The tidbits of information were interesting, but Vowell was so vocal in her Democratic-leaning predilections (which I obviously didn't mind because I too loathed the Bush administration) that I wondered where her biases affected the rest of the book.
1. Sarah Vowell and I could never be friends in real life. She is afraid of everything!
2. I would assume a book about presidential assassinations would mention, oh I don't know, the most recent one? Not so! Kennedy didn't make the cut, apparently.
3. The tidbits of information were interesting, but Vowell was so vocal in her Democratic-leaning predilections (which I obviously didn't mind because I too loathed the Bush administration) that I wondered where her biases affected the rest of the book.
sunbreak's review
5.0
I was so sad when this book was over.. and I don't feel that way very often. A great combo of sly humor and history.
crazylady_usmc's review against another edition
4.0
You never can go wrong with a book by Sarah Vowell
book_concierge's review
2.0
Book on CD read by the author and special guests
I loved the premise of this nonfiction book. I have a nearly life-long fascination with murder and murderers. Vowell’s obsession is more specific to political assassination, but still, I am forever drawn to the kinds of attractions she visits … museums of medical interest, or regarding crime. This volume chronicles her visits to various sites related to the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley. I also had the text version available to me (mostly to verify spellings, etc), and I have to say she does include a lot of fascinating trivia about the people involved in these cases. Even to including information about other people who were in the Ford Theatre when John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln, and their descendents.
As for the audio … OMG … I know from her bio that she’s done voice work (notably voicing “Violet” in The Incredibles - a Pixar animated film). But she really should have hired a different, professional actor, or relied on her “guests” more. Her guests have only an occasional sentence to pronounce, and they include: Conan O’Brien, Stephen King (who plays Abraham Lincoln), Dave Eggers and Jon Stewart (among others). On the other hand, Vowell’s extremely nasal tone, plus the background music, are enough to make me run for the hills. Had I rated the audio book only, I’d give it 1 star; but I was still fascinated by the subject. She’s like that weird history teacher you had in 5th grade who was so obsessed with some detail that s/he made it come alive for you (even though you rolled your eyes and KNEW s/he was loony tunes). That focused attention gets her an extra star.
I loved the premise of this nonfiction book. I have a nearly life-long fascination with murder and murderers. Vowell’s obsession is more specific to political assassination, but still, I am forever drawn to the kinds of attractions she visits … museums of medical interest, or regarding crime. This volume chronicles her visits to various sites related to the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley. I also had the text version available to me (mostly to verify spellings, etc), and I have to say she does include a lot of fascinating trivia about the people involved in these cases. Even to including information about other people who were in the Ford Theatre when John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln, and their descendents.
As for the audio … OMG … I know from her bio that she’s done voice work (notably voicing “Violet” in The Incredibles - a Pixar animated film). But she really should have hired a different, professional actor, or relied on her “guests” more. Her guests have only an occasional sentence to pronounce, and they include: Conan O’Brien, Stephen King (who plays Abraham Lincoln), Dave Eggers and Jon Stewart (among others). On the other hand, Vowell’s extremely nasal tone, plus the background music, are enough to make me run for the hills. Had I rated the audio book only, I’d give it 1 star; but I was still fascinated by the subject. She’s like that weird history teacher you had in 5th grade who was so obsessed with some detail that s/he made it come alive for you (even though you rolled your eyes and KNEW s/he was loony tunes). That focused attention gets her an extra star.
alidottie's review
5.0
This book is historically funny! I love anyone who makes history interesting. I love the way Vowell ties things to each other--things in the past to other things and makes some apt comparisons to very recent history. She is just a delight.