I don’t know what it is about the darker moments in US history that people find so fascinating, but perhaps it is that psychological warm blanket of knowing that an awful thing happened while you are safe. I could ponder this all day but you came for a review and a review you are going to get.
Sarah Vowell is the kind of girl I could hang out with. Her quirky sense of humor, her keen observation, her intelligence and wit shine on each page. Sure, she has a macabre fascination with assassinated presidents but who doesn’t? She has an acerbic nephew who also seems like he’d be good to take on a road trip. Vowell does what I usually hate in non fiction-she puts herself in the narrative, but she does it so well that others should take note. This book is not just a book about men who were assassinated and the men who did the assassinating. This is a book about what it means to Vowell as her Mecca is not a place in a desert, but occasionally a forgotten placard recounting a historical event.
Vowell’s book is divided into four chapters, though the last chapter acts more as an epilogue. First Sarah Vowell hits up Ford’s Theater, the infamous location where John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln as he attended a performance of “Our American Cousin”. Vowells narrative dances along describing the setting, what she is doing there, then dances back through history to outline the conspiracy and conspirators. She follows Booth or rather, the articles in Booth’s pockets to the Library of Congress and takes a pitstop at the Lincoln Memorial. Vowell doesn’t just like history, she breathes history. She is able to quote speeches and tie in various key players with other historical mini dramas in a seamless way that scoot the narrative along. One fun sidetrack was a little tale about Secretary of State Seward who was also attacked as part of the Lincoln Assassination Plot. Vowell talks about “Seward’s Folly” (the purchase of Alaska from Russia) and the totem pole that mocks him located in Saxman, Alaska. I’ve seen that totem pole and wondered about the story behind it. Thanks to Vowell’s meanderings, I know.
The second chapter focuses on the assassination of President James Garfield. Garfield’s death was a long slow burn. He lingered for two months from the time he was shot until the time of his death. Vowell points out that his death was more interesting than his life, and it seems history would agree because he is one of the least remembered presidents. It turns out that Garfield and I have something in common, Garfield was a reader who would rather have been reading than doing anything else, including being president. Vowell visits Garfield’s garish home in the midwest and draws parallels and contrasts between the president, and his killer Charles J. Guiteau. She also gives a hilarious description of Guiteau’s affiliation with the Oneida Community, then flits off to D.C. for a look at Garfield’s Washington of lesser known or torn down historical sites. A sad legacy to a sad (ish) presidency. Vowell then touches on the Guiteau’s subsequent trial and execution (spoiler alert, if you didn’t pass US History in high school or didn’t have to take US History because you aren’t from the US). Vowell ends her tour of Garfield’s assassination where he died, in Long Branch New Jersey.
The third chapter takes us to McKinley’s assassination. Here Vowell takes some time to further introduce her nephew, a companion in many of her travels. He is four and enjoys visiting grave yards and the macabre and makes a perfect traveling partner and eager learner. McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, a mentally unstable anarchist that led a sorry life. This section of the book I found to be the weakest. While Vowell humanizes both victim and aggressor, she goes on a political tangent that doesn’t address all sides of the issue for the reader. This is a case where Vowell believes something about war and she is assumes that all logical people must agree with her. I would have liked to see a stronger case for her own opinions. This section also led into the fourth chapter of the book which I am not sure merited any more than an epilogue sort of mention. Through all these assassinations, Vowell manages to coincidentally link Todd Lincoln. It is fairly easy in the first case (clearly) but the other sections are more of a stretch. It seemed like an interesting little gem that she tried to make into a chapter and it didn’t really work for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. How could I not? I like Vowell’s style and I enjoy history. I would recommend this to like minded friends and readers.
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