The Wordy Shipmates
by Sarah Vowell
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Book Reviews of The Wordy Shipmates
Book Review: One star is too generous
Summary: 1 Stars
I knew when I selected this book it would probably have a liberal spin. But I thought, what the heck, I like the title, I'll be open minded, and I do want to know more about the Puritans. OMG, do liberals all get together and decide they will completely think in the same myopic, condescending, America needs to be taken down a notch view point? Oh yeah, it's called University. Well,the same old trite liberal spin is boring. I would rather attend a Quaker sermon with Benjamin Franklin than suffer through this nonsense again. Well, ok attending anything with Benjamin Franklin would be amazing, but still.... Please, learn to diverge your thinking and come up with something clever and different if you want us to believe you are the party of diversity. One sided, intolerate bad mouthing of others who certainly were extremely multifaceted would go a long way in acheiving some sort of crediablity. As you can see the liberal bent totally distracted me from what I really wanted to know more about - The Puritans. Now for the one star, I will say, I appreciated the author's admiration for the Puritans...even if it was in her own twisted, gosh I'll try to admire them without liking America way.Book Review: "Jokey" history with constant interruptions
Summary: 3 Stars
Sarah Vowell specializes in what might be called "jokey popular history." She's serious about her subject but she tries to wrap it up in a -- well duh! style of writing interspersed with many personal asides, some relevant, some not.
Here, she writes about the founding of the colonies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the colorful characters who inspired them. This quickly draws her into abstruse theological differences that today seem highly irrelevant. But she succeeds in demonstrating that the ideas of men like John Winthrop and Roger Williams did much to form the kind of country the United States eventually became -- and continue to live on today, although much altered by history.
Though she admires both men, she also judges them by 21st century moral standards and finds both wanting. Of course, the ultimate blot on the record of these fine-speaking avatars of Christian morality was the appaling massacre of Native Americans at Mystic Fort when women and children were burned alive.
I found the material interesting but the author's radiophonic "This American Life" interruptions were often intrusive. She tends to ramble. One and a half thumbs up for this one.
Book Review: Sarah Vowell Does It Again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Sarah Vowell is one of my favorite writers. She writes in such a way that makes history fun and interesting, even if you haven't studied it since high school.
THE WORDY SHIPMATES continues this trend. It focuses on the Puritans, the wave of settlers to Massachusetts who followed the Pilgrims. They were led by John Winthrop who is probably best known for coining the term "City on a hill" made famous by several Presidents, including Reagan. Vowell also writes about Roger Williams (who after being exiled from Massachusetts, settles Rhode Island), Anne Hutchinson, and the Native Americans.
Like her previous work, this is a highly entertaining read. You feel her enthusiasm for the time period. As I stated, even those who don't normally read history will find this fascinating.
This may end up being my favorite book this year.
I can't wait to read what she writes next.
Book Review: Interesting history, but a bit too "wordy"
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I've been a longtime fan of Sarah Vowell. Unfortunately, this isn't my favorite book of hers. What I really love about her other books is that I can pick them up, read a chapter or two, put it down and come back to it a couple of weeks or months later and read a little more. The chapters tend to be self-contained little stories. She dives in for a little taste of something, explores it, add some anecdotes and then moves on. This book is different in that it's all one in depth look at the Massachusetts Bay Puritans, well, more specifically, one of those Puritans (Winthrop).
Before this book, I was not very familiar with the subject, but I love history so I enjoyed learning more about the Puritans. It's just that it's a little too much. This would have been better as a shorter piece in one of her books covering several subjects. It's great history, it's just a little more in depth than I really needed.
Book Review: Interesting, but a little random
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is the first book of Sarah Vowell's writings that I've read. I didn't know what to expect, not having heard much of her on NPR. I found her treatment of the Massachusetts Bay colony and its leaders engaging. She deftly mixes sharp and snarky comments from today's perspective in with her exposition of what the principal issues, religious and pragmatic, confronting the leaders of the colony. However, it also seemed a little bit random at times, as though she would tire of discussing one aspect of the colony and then pick up a new thread without much transition. That made the history a but more desultory than I'd like, but I'm sure everyone's mileage will vary on that point. It might make things less dry for other readers.
Overall, I'd recommend The Wordy Shipmates as an accessible history of the Bay colony that figures so significantly--if not prominently--in our nation's history.