“Assassination Vacation” is the first book that I’ve read by Sarah Vowell, and I can already tell that she will become one of my favorite authors. History has always been one of my favorite subjects; however, at the risk of stripping away my journalistic integrity, I’ve found that reading about history tends to be very bland. Usually just straight forward facts and dates and names can get awfully tedious when you’re trying to learn about something as important as history.
So when I heard that this book dealt with the first three presidential assassinations, I was skeptical to say the least. But, like all great historians, Vowell looks beyond the mundane and really gives some surprisingly hilarious insight into this gloomy topic.
The book consists of five parts: an introduction, in which Vowell explains that an off-Broadway production called “Assassins,” an intentionally funny play about presidential assassins and their respective targets, got her interested in doing some serious research into assassinations.
The next three parts consist of Vowell visiting any and all spots around the US that has some correlation with the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. Some of them are obvious, such as the theatre where Lincoln was killed, but the book spends more time at places you wouldn’t necessarily expect, such as museums that hold pieces of John Wilkes Booth’s skull, or the collared shirt that Garfield was wearing in the train station where he was shot.
And finally, the fourth part is an overview of the construction of the Lincoln monument, and a look into the life of Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham’s oldest son, who was present at all three assassinations covered in the book.
Although she doesn’t explain why, the book never goes into any great detail about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, so for all you Warren Commission buffs, don’t expect much on this classic subject, save for one section where she displays the horrifying coincidences between the deaths of Lincoln and Kennedy: John-Wilkes-Booth, Lee-Harvey-Oswald (there’s a teaser for you).
The real appeal of this book is Vowell’s witty and insightful commentary on the lives and early deaths of these three presidents. The book was published in 2005, so naturally she sometimes slips into commenting on George W. Bush in hilarious and truly original ways.
Vowell’s ability to look not only at the lives of the presidents but also at the complicated and sometimes hilariously awkward lives of the assassins displays her truly original voice.
Crammed with facts and hilarious commentary, “Assassination Vacation” is one of the most original and engaging books I’ve read in a long time. And don’t let the dark subject matter deter you. In fact, I do not recommend reading this book in public unless you mind letting other people see you laugh out loud at a book with the word “Assassination” in its title.