Synopses & Reviews
In
The Partly Cloudy Patriot, 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 narratives 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 audiobook, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.
Synopsis
Capturing the hilarious and moving things that happen when Sarah Vowell--in her singularly readable and piquant prose--confronts the rhythms of American life past and present. "The Partly Cloudy Patriot is a book of essays that manages to be at once reassuring and unnerving, acerbic and heartwarming, skeptical and idealistic. From Salem to Gettysburg, from the New Hampshire primary to George W. Bush's inauguration in D.C., Vowell travels into her own history as well as the American past. In "God Will Give Your Blood to Drink in a Souvenir Shot Glass," Vowell reflects on how her happiness is inversely proportional to the places that she visits. In "Rosa Parks, C'est Moi," she rails against those who compare themselves to the civil rights icon, while "Cowboys vs. Mounties" discusses our neighbors to the north. The critically acclaimed "The Partly Cloudy Patriot showcases a writer of great wit and precision at the top of her form.
About the Author
Sarah Vowell is a contributing editor for public radio's This American Life and has written for Time, Esquire, GQ, Spin, Salon, McSweeneys, The Village Voice, and the Los Angeles Times. She is the author of Radio On, Take the Cannoli, and The Partly Cloudy Patriot. She lives in New York City. Paul Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, which carried thirty-three states and made Bill Clinton the first Democrat to win the White House in sixteen years. He served as counselor to the president in the Clinton White House, where he coordinated policy, politics, and communications. He is the author of four books, including Is Our Children Learning?: The Case Against George W. Bush; It's Still the Economy, Stupid; and Buck Up, Suck Up...and Come Back When You Foul Up (with James Carville). Begala is a CNN political commentator and a research professor of public policy at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. Paul earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas, where he was student body president. He and his wife live quietly in Virginia with their four boys and a German shepherd. (Okay, so they don't live too quietly.) They Might Be Giants (aka "TMBG") is an American alternative music group from Brooklyn, NY. The group was founded by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, who released their first album in 1986. Throughout their 25+ year career, the band has racked up several charting albums and singles, as well as two Grammy awards--one in 2002 for their song "Boss Of Me", (the theme song for Malcolm in the Middle) and the other in 2009 for their children's album Here Come The 123s. They continue to record alternative albums while branching out into the realm of children's music, and have sold over 4 million records in total.