The Wordy Shipmates - by Sarah Vowell (Paperback)

About the Book

From the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Assassination Vacation" and "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" comes an examination of the Puritans, their covenant communities, deep-rooted idealism, political and cultural relevance, and their myriad oddities.

Book Synopsis

In this New York Times bestseller, the author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States "brings the [Puritan] era wickedly to life" (Washington Post).

To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Sarah Vowell investigates what that means-and what it should mean. What she discovers is something far different from what their uptight shoebuckles- and-corn reputation might suggest-a highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty people, whose story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance.

Vowell takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, where "righteousness" is rhymed with "wilderness," to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Throughout, The Wordy Shipmates is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices.

Review Quotes

"[Vowell's] a complex blend: part brilliant essayist, part pop-culture-loving comedian and a full-time unabashed history geek. The mixture makes her both proudly pointy-headed and forever entertaining."
-"Seattle Times"
"Sarah Vowell lends her engaging voice and keen powers of observation to a work of social history...Provid[ing] a glimpse of what life was really like for the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the founders of Plymouth."
-"Los Angeles Times"
"Vowell's words crackle on the printed page...smart, quirky and unabashedly incendiary...Vowell is very funny. She is generous as she wrestles with the moral intricacies of our nation's beginnings and how Puritan contradictions inform our sense of American exceptionalism today..."The Wordy Shipmates" is more than a punk-ish twist on our brave, verbose, tortured forebears, living in their new colony like 'an ashram in the woods.'"
-"Cleveland Plain Dealer"
"For those of us who'd rather harvest our history lessons from "The Simpsons" than the History Channel, Vowell is a latter-day hero...Fascinating."
-"Elle"
"Vowell...reads history with attitude, humor and sensitivity."
-"Minneapolis Star-Tribune"
"[Vowell exercises] her trademark sweet, silly, arch sense of the incongruous ways we memorialize the American past."
-"Chicago Tribune"


"[Vowell''s] a complex blend: part brilliant essayist, part pop-culture-loving comedian and a full-time unabashed history geek. The mixture makes her both proudly pointy-headed and forever entertaining."
-"Seattle Times"

"Sarah Vowell lends her engaging voice and keen powers of observation to a work of social history...Provid[ing] a glimpse of what life was really like for the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the founders of Plymouth."
-"Los Angeles Times"

"Vowell''s words crackle on the printed page...smart, quirky and unabashedly incendiary...Vowell is very funny. She is generous as she wrestles with the moral intricacies of our nation''s beginnings and how Puritan contradictions inform our sense of American exceptionalism today..."The Wordy Shipmates" is more than a punk-ish twist on our brave, verbose, tortured forebears, living in their new colony like ''an ashram in the woods.''"
-"Cleveland Plain Dealer"

"For those of us who''d rather harvest our history lessons from "The Simpsons" than the History Channel, Vowell is a latter-day hero...Fascinating."
-"Elle"

"Vowell...reads history with attitude, humor and sensitivity."
-"Minneapolis Star-Tribune"

"[Vowell exercises] her trademark sweet, silly, arch sense of the incongruous ways we memorialize the American past."
-"Chicago Tribune"

About the Author

Sarah Vowell is the bestselling author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, Unfamiliar Fishes, The Wordy Shipmates, Assassination Vacation, and The Partly Cloudy Patriot.