Assassination Vacation was the first book by Sarah Vowell (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005; ISBN: 0-7432-6003-1) that I had heard about. A couple of years ago, I was watching program on the History Channel about the assassination of President McKinley. Sarah was one of the talking heads on that show and when identifying her listed her as the author of Assassination Vacation. I was hooked. I knew that I would need to buy and read that book. Having read two of her other books (The Partly Cloudy Patriot and Take the Cannoli), I was certain I would enjoy this one. Frankly, I was fairly giddy with excitement at the prospect of reading this book. It did not fail.
Assassination Vacation tells of Sarah's obsession with the first three assassinated US presidents: Abraham Lincoln, James Abram Garfield, and William McKinley. Sarah and her varied cast of sidekicks/drivers travel to various locations associated with these presidential assassinations and their aftermaths. The tales are informative and engaging. She expertly draws you into her obsession wanting to know all the facts and minutiae that she knows. The fact that two of her subjects are from Ohio, my home state, only adds to my fascination with her and this book.
My only tiny quibble with the book is one particular phrase that she uses in describing a neighborhood in New York City: "The neighborhood of Gramercy Park, where Edwin [Booth, brother of Lincoln assassin, John Wilkes Booth] used to live, was built to look like London, which is to say that its considerable beauty is skin deep while its heart beats with the ugliness of monarchy." (Emphasis and note in brackets mine.) Being a fan of the monarchic principle, I cannot wrap my head around "the ugliness of monarchy." I guess I just can't conjure up the feeling that there is anything ugly about monarchy.
All told, I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to more of Sarah's writing.
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