The Wordy Shipmates
by Sarah Vowell
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Book Reviews of The Wordy Shipmates
Book Review: Review of " The Wordy Shipmates".
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently read "the Wordy Shipmates" by Sara Vowell. It basically was Ms. Vowell's telling of the early settlement of Massachusetts Bay colony and environs centering around the character of John Winthrop. She does a good job of discussing the paradox of his thought and presenting the value system of Winthrop's world. She presents the major characters of this drama with much editorial comment such that she is no longer a neutral observer. She has an easy story-telling style which is easy to follow and although one knows the story, one wants to follow the story through to the end. One looks forward to what Ms. Vowell will say about the next character presented.
She has a need to tell us too much about her background and her social world. Her polemic on her opinions of certain politicians and political party serve as a distraction to the reader and make one turn pages to a change of the topic quickly.
The book was a different, entertainng history which should not be one's first introduction to the historical period.
Thomas J. Keenan
Book Review: "The Brady Bunch" as History.
Summary: 4 Stars
Sarah Vowell has done it again. Her easy style and simple analogies keep the reader interested and the pace moving - in spite of what might be considered a droll subject. The references to TV shows such as "Bewitched", "Happy Days", and "The Brady Bunch" make it clear that Vowell is a product of the modern media generation.
"'Bobby, the Indians were friendly at first,' says Mrs. Brady. 'They didn't start fighting until their land was taken away.'
Bobby: 'You mean the Pilgrims took away all the Indians' land?'
'That's right,' answers Mr. Brady, who immediately looks regretful at this pointblank lapse of patriotic-forefather boosterism and adds, 'Uh, well, at first they didn't take much of it.'"
Later she writes, "There isn't much difference between tall tales that start, 'Listen my children and you shall hear' and 'Here's the story of a man named Brady.' In other words, Americans have learned our history from exaggerated popular art for as long as anyone can remember...."
Sarah Vowell is an American treasure.
Book Review: Good, but kind of boring
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The Wordy Shipmates focuses on the Puritans and their ideology. The inspiration for this book seems to have been a guy named John Winthrop and a speech that he wrote.
It's as amusing and interesting as a book about the puritans could be, and Vowell's enthusiasm for the subject shined through and made me want to be excited about it, too. However, there is only so much that can be done to spice up this topic, and even with her witty interjections and pop culture references I found myself getting bored in places.
If you are a fan of her work, or are interested in reading about American history from the point of view of someone other than a crusty old white guy for a change, you will enjoy this book.
Sarah, I love you girl, but please get obsessed with something more fun next time.
Book Review: Great Idea but Does not Fully Deliver
Summary: 3 Stars
I will admit that I enjoyed this book very much. I think Sarah Vowell did a great job of explaining how the Puritans who first settled here in 1620 & 1630 have had a continual and ongoing impact on the U.S. Her irreverent tone and tongue in cheek approach to telling their story and her own search for their modern day remnants is very well written.
I do disagree with a number of the points that argue that Vowell argues that the somehow the Puritans created this modern religious right wing colossus. Not only does she spend a great time discussing her own Pentecostal upbringing, but she does a great job of explaining how both Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were to serve as role models for many dissenters down the line.
The books one great weakness is that it does tend to meander from topic and gets diffuse at certain points. There is a lot of filler and the story often times becomes non-linear it seems. But all in all if you're a history buff and especially if you enjoyed Assassination Vacation you will enjoy this!
Book Review: Put this on the reading list for US history students, and on your list, too
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been quoting this book for a month now--it's so perfect during this ground-breaking election season. So much of our early history is eerily apropos to today. Well, maybe it's not so eerie, considering the influence the Winthrop era players have had on the founding of this country. Vowell is adept at tying the 17th century with the 20th and 21st centuries, and provides big enough chunks of original text to help make Winthrop and Williams and the rest of the wordy folks come alive, and for us to see them as three-dimensional people who may have been self-righteous but who also worried deeply about doing the right thing.
I checked this out of the library but am finally turning it back in and will buy a copy for my family and one for my history-buff mom. In addition to being a lively read, it's fairly short, considering its depth, so it won't get stuck on the bedside table with a bookmark in the the second chapter, like those tomes you thought would be good for your brain but turned out to be better for your sleep.