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Also by Sarah Vowell:

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, November 2015
Hardcover / e-Book
Unfamiliar Fishes, April 2011
Hardcover
The Wordy Shipmates, October 2008
Hardcover
Assassination Vacation, January 2006
Trade Size (reprint)

ASSASSINATION VACATION
By: Sarah Vowell

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.

Simon and Schuster
January 2006
272 pages
ISBN: 074326004X
Trade Size (reprint)
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Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction Biography | Non-Fiction Memoir

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.

Media Buzz

This American Life - May 9, 2009
All Things Considered - October 6, 2008
This American Life - May 3, 2008
This American Life - March 22, 2008
Colbert Report - September 28, 2006
Late Show with David Letterman - March 22, 2006
Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central - February 27, 2006
Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central - February 21, 2006