2006; 255 pages. New Author? : No. Genres : Travelogue; American History; Non-Fiction;
Biographies. Overall Rating: 8½*/10.
Four United States presidents were
assassinated during their time in office: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield,
William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Each
time, America was stunned and went into a state of shock and mourning.
In every case, authorities
concluded a lone gunman was responsible.
In two of those assassinations, Lincoln and Kennedy, the killer also
perished: John Wilkes Booth during the ensuing manhunt, and Lee Harvey Oswald during
his incarceration phase. In the Garfield and McKinley slayings, the shooter was
put on trial and subsequently hung.
There was no national mourning for any of them.
But then comes the remembering
part. What should you do to memorialize
the slain presidents? Heroic statues of
the presidents come to mind, but what about the bullets, the blood-soaked
clothes, and a lock of presidential hair?
For that matter, what about those sorts of things taken from the
assassins?
Sarah Vowell decided to find
out.
What’s To Like...
Assassination
Vacation is first and foremost a travelogue. Sarah Vowell travels up and down the eastern
United States, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends when she can talk them
into it. The book of her experiences is divided into five
sections, namely:
00. Preface (page 1)
01. Abraham Lincoln (page 19)
02. James Garfield (page 121)
03. William McKinley (page 187)
04. Robert Todd Lincoln (page 239)
As can be seen, the biggest
attention is rightfully paid to Abraham Lincoln. He was the first POTUS
killed in office, had just finished presiding over a heart-wrenching Civil
War, and his killer came from a nationally-known acting family. James Garfield and William
McKinley were presidents that most people, including me, know very
little about. Robert Todd Lincoln
was Lincoln’s son, who, through incredible odds, was in the vicinity of all three
of the aforementioned slayings.
I loved the historical aspect
of the book. Sarah Vowell gives the
reader lots of interesting details about each president – where he grew up,
what his politics were, and where his life came to an end. I was impressed that the author also took
time to investigate the lives of the assassins.
What was their life like, why did they do it, how did they manage to
accomplish the assassination, and what rationale did they express during the limited
time after they were apprehended.
Sarah Vowell has an “informal”
writing style that I thoroughly enjoy.
This is not a dry presentation of American history. The reader gets to
hear her thoughts as she rummages through museums and tourist traps, and
searches for hard-to-spot memorial plaques on nondescript walls. She often shares her tastes in music (which I found eclectic and excellent). Last but not least, the she taught me the proper pronunciation
of one of the assassins’ last names: Leon
Czolgosz. Yeah, good luck guessing that one; we’ll divulge it
at the end of this review.
Ratings…
Amazon: 4.3*/5, based on 1,176 ratings
and 446 reviews.
Goodreads: 3.93*/5,
based on 47,128
ratings and 4,142 reviews.
Excerpts...
In a museum across town there is another
object that is the best indication of the esteem for Lincoln I have ever
seen—more than the marble tomb, more than even the marble Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C., more than any book, statue, lock of hair, bloodstained
collar, top hat, or plaque.
Any old forgettable rich guy might warrant
a marble tomb, an obelisk, or elaborate sculptures after death, but you know
you are regarded with a ridiculous, religious amount of awe when they put your
dug-up drainpipe in a museum. (pg. 109)
The wounded president was moved onto a mattress,
his head held in the hands of a washroom attendant. But, as Laurie Anderson put it, “It’s not the
bullet that kills you, it’s the hole.”
Garfield might have survived the shooting but for what happened
next. Namely, that various physicians
summoned to the scene, especially Dr. D.W. Bliss, searched for the bullet’s
location in Garfield’s back by poking their grimy fingers into the wound,
rooting around in the presidential innards. (pg. 160)
“You sockdologizing
old man-trap.” (pg.
46, and yes, that’s a real word.)
There’s just a modicum of
cussing in Assassination Vacation. I
counted just ten instances in the entire book, and they were mostly the result of
direct quotes from persons Sarah was talking to.
It should be noted that
although four presidents have been assassinated while in office, only three are discussed here. There’s almost
nothing about John Kennedy being shot in Dallas. I was okay with this; I’m old enough to
remember where I was when this happened: in 8th-grade civics
class. But younger readers may be disappointed
that his assassination wasn’t investigated for this book.
Also, please keep in mind that Sarah
Vowell isn’t shy about voicing her political views in Assassination Vacation. We won’t say what they are, but right-wingers
should probably give this book a pass.
Overall, I enjoyed Assassination
Vacation., both for its delightful travelogue aspect and its informative
history aspect. It was easy-reading,
witty, and above all, tremendously informative.
8½ Stars. One last thing. Per the author, the name “Czolgosz” is pronounced “shol gosh”. Now you know.
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