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Book News, Guests | December 14, 2009

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The Partly Cloudy Patriot

by Sarah Vowell

The Partly Cloudy Patriot Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and, in doing so, investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. In this insightful and funny collection of personal stories Vowell — widely hailed for her inimitable stories on public radio's This American Life — ponders a number of curious questions: Why is she happiest when visiting the sites of bloody struggles like Salem or Gettysburg? Why do people always inappropriately compare themselves to Rosa Parks? Why is a bad life in sunny California so much worse than a bad life anywhere else? What is it about the Zen of foul shots? And, in the title piece, why must doubt and internal arguments haunt the sleepless nights of the true patriot?

Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, themes, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration.

The result is a teeming and engrossing book, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.

Review:

Hartford Courant[Vowell's] collection of essays explores patriotism and other aspects of contemporary life from the refreshingly contrarian view of a thoughtfully disaffected, wryly outspoken and deeply passionate citizen.

Review:

San Francisco Chronicle

Even though her pieces make us laugh about every fourth line, we feel as if there's something more significant at work....A writer of fierce observational powers who wears her intelligence and wit as comfortably as an old pair of pajamas.

Review:

Entertainment WeeklyDroll, intelligent, and persuasive.
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About the Author

Sarah Vowell is the author of Take the Cannoli and is a contributing editor for public radio's This American Life. She lives in New York City.
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Table of Contents

Contents

What He Said There

The First Thanksgiving

Ike Was a Handsome Man

God Will Give You Blood to Drink in a Souvenir Shot Glass

The New German Cinema

Democracy and Things Like That

Pop-A-Shot

California as an Island

Dear Dead Congressman

The Nerd Voice

Rosa Parks, C'est Moi

Tom Cruise Makes Me Nervous

Underground Lunchroom

Wonder Twins

Cowboys v. Mounties

The Partly Cloudy Patriot

State of the Union

Tom Landry, Existentialist, Dead at 75

The Strenuous Life

Acknowledgments

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
Shoshana, July 20, 2009 (view all comments by Shoshana)
I want to like this collection of (mostly) political essays more than I do. I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it much--Vowell's thinking jumps and associates amusingly, her topics are coherent and interesting, and her writing is usually fine, if sometimes also unremarkable. When I've heard Vowell speak, I've found her funny. Whatever the reason, this simply didn't appeal.
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Anna Shumaker, February 12, 2009 (view all comments by Anna Shumaker)
Loved it. Reminds me of something I wish I could have written myself. Very funny yet insightful and intelligent. I also find it very refreshing to hear from a female nerd who loves the gory (and somewhat boring) bits of history.
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crowyhead, October 31, 2007 (view all comments by crowyhead)
Witty musings on politics, history, and patriotism from This American Life darling Sarah Vowell. Sarah Vowell is the closest to a female David Sedaris I've found thus far; it's as though someone took David Sedaris's self-deprecating wit, mixed it with Eddie Izzard's knowledge of history, and then set the combination loose on your average band geek. Or something. I love Sarah Vowell's extreme nerdiness, and this was a very enjoyable book.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780743243803
Author:
Streeter, Katherine
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Author:
Streeter, Katherine
Subject:
General
Subject:
History
Subject:
United States - General
Subject:
Americana
Subject:
National characteristics, american
Subject:
Popular Culture - General
Subject:
General Current Events
Subject:
General Literary Criticism & Collections
Subject:
United States Politics and government.
Copyright:
2003
Edition Description:
B102
Publication Date:
October 2003
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
YES
Pages:
197
Dimensions:
8.56x5.56x.64 in. .47 lbs.
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