The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
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Book Reviews of The Wordy Shipmates
Book Review: Very funny
Summary: 4 Stars
I can't summarize this book effectively, so I'm just going to quote from the back:
"To this day, Americans think of themselves as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means - and what it should mean. Who were these people who are considered the political and spiritual and moral ancestors of our nation? What was this great enterprise all about? What Vowell discovers is something far different from their uptight shoe-buckles-and-corn reputation. The people she finds are highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty. Their story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance."
And so on. Let me say that this book is absolutely hilarious. I found myself laughing regularly throughout Vowell's journey through Puritan history. She makes history that is normally dull and confusing (even for me, who loves history) into a riot of a book that I just wanted to keep reading. She also relates the past to the present and shows us a fair amount of horrifying examples where history repeats itself - or worse, when American presidents take out bits and pieces of Puritan speeches and ignore the important bits about being good to your fellow citizens. I'm not sure the book has potential for being read and understood a hundred years from now given the pop culture jokes, but it's certainly amusing now.
Sarah Vowell does a brilliant job of showing us how history is relevant while keeping us entertained and informed. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this one.
Book Review: Winthrop, Williams and wit
Summary: 4 Stars
Sarah Vowell must really want you to read her new book in one gulp....there are no chapter delineations, so sit back and enjoy "The Wordy Shipmates." For those who have read her previous books, her comments on history have a uniquely Vowell-touch.
The Puritans, Vowell admits, have had a pretty rough historical consideration over time and she admits to having a soft spot for them. This is largely a book about the early New England settlers, of course, with John Winthrop and Roger Williams getting the most play. The rogue cast continues with John Cotton, Anne Hutchinson and some other minor additions. Bill Maher would have fun with this group, too....it's sort of a seventeenth century "Religulous", often meeting up with "Spamalot" along the way. Calvinists though many of them were, their pre-ordained divination might have come as quite a shock as they hounded Indians in Connecticut, escaped to Rhode Island and quibbled in Massachusetts. The author lets not a wretched soul off the hook.
One can imagine Sarah Vowell teaching history studies with a modern-day lingo and interpretation so acute that hers might be the most fascinating history course one ever undertakes... where her final exams would be oral but she would do more of the talking. While "Wordy Shipmates" tends to drift sometimes in its narrative as far as the breakaway theologians and teachers of the day, Vowell, nonetheless, offers up a book that is never, well, puritanical. It is informative, witty, and yes....read it in one sitting.
Book Review: A little-- well-- wordy...
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I love Sarah Vowell's books. She is an absolute master at examining a historical subject, relating it to the world we live in, and inserting her personal foibles to it, all in a narrative that moves so smoothly and quickly that you're sometimes surprised that you've read the whole book at a sitting. That's what she attempts to do here, but she doesn't quite pull it off this time.
Don't misunderstand me; this isn't at all a bad book. In fact, it's fascinating. It is jam-packed with fascinating information about the Massachusetts Puritans and the religious, social, and historical context of their settlement. Vowell weaves comments about her family background, education, travels, and hopes and fears into the narrative, just as she usually does.
When Vowell's writing works best, it's driven by her quirkiness and her ability to veer off on what seems to be a tangent, then bring everything together in the end. She does that here, but just not as well as in her other books. Perhaps the subject just isn't as susceptible to the Vowell treatment as the subjects of her other books.
I actually enjoyed this book, and I recommend it highly. However, it's just not as good as her other books made me expect it to be. Well worth reading, though.
Book Review: Happy Days
Summary: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this book from several perspectives. First and foremost I enjoy anything that gives solid analysis to the Boston - Salem Puritans. And I thought Vowell did that. She did some significant research here to anchor the work in the words of the wordy shipmates. On this same note I enjoyed the way Sarah showed how the lives and works of Winthrop, William and Hutchinson impact the periods between then and now. I wish she'd given a little more time to Endicott....and I disagree with her spelling of his name. He was a real force to be reckoned with, but she clearly capture his essence.
The work is also timely given our current political and economic climate.
Another thing I picked up on and is very personal to me, it the spiritual journey component. I was very glad to get some one elses perspective on the spiritual life these people were wrestling with, right or wrong. Who is anyone to say.
Sarah clearly has a twisted sense of humor and I wish she would have taken that up another notch or two, but then who knows what the editors did to that.
Easily can recommend this book to any students of New England history or anyone interested in religious fanatics.
I love the Puritans. They probably would not have accepted me as I am for sure. But I am a direct descendant of them...although my ancestors fled the community at first chance.
Book Review: Not as Good as Assassination Vacation But It's Still Good Vowell
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I really enjoy Sarah Vowell's work and I've often recommended Assassination Vacation , so I had pretty high expectations for The Wordy Shipmates.
At its core The Wordy Shipmates is a very interesting book. Vowell takes a look at a very specific time and space in American History and shines a light into many preconceived notions of the Puritans and their experience in early America.
What's missing from The Wordy Shipmates is Vowell herself. In Assassination Vacation, Vowell's own journey was the glue which held the book together. Here that kind of journey is mostly absent and so the book often gets stalled in the historical content.
That all said, it is a fascinating book and Vowell is immensely talented. My instinct though is that hearing her read this story would be more enjoyable and entertaining than reading it, and this comes from someone who rarely listens to audio books.
So if you're a Vowell fan, do check this book out, albeit with lower expectations as it's no Assassination Vacation.