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Summary: Self-proclaimed "citizenship geek" makes good
Review: Politics and government are not my usual thing, but I really enjoyed Sarah Vowell's book. Her sometimes Parkeresque wit (that's a compliment) keeps this collection of essays jogging briskly along; I was never bored, even as she talked about Gettysburg and voting booths and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. She's more than just funny. She's smart. Sharp. She's the best kind of nerd -- one who can see a broader view of her interests, and not just the minutiae that make nerds nerds. She knows her stuff, and knows it so well that she can wrap an unexpected metaphor around it and you still "get" it. (Elvis, anyone?) The forms of the essays are varied -- in addition to many traditional essays, there are at least two in letter-format, and one Larry King-like list -- which helps to pull the reader through the book. Her studied tangents and "soft" endings that never preach make this a very palatable book for "sunshine patriots" like myself. You'll laugh, you'll think, you'll go back for more. Give this book a try, even if essays aren't your thing. Even if government isn't your thing. You'll learn a thing or two and you'll enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A unique collection
Review: I've taken a fancy to memoirs and essays lately, and Vowell's stands out among them - primarily because most of her essays have a political/patriotic/historical flavor to them. It's a refreshing change from the typical tales of love, work, and foibles that are in many memoirs.
Rating:
Summary: Partly Sunny
Review: I first came to Sarah Vowell not through NPR, but rather through an essay she wrote about Mel Gibson's "The Patriot", for a now-defunct webzine called Open Letters. Some months later she wrote a fascinating Election Day rumination on David Letterman and American voting habits for the same site. Both these essays -- one intact, one substantially altered for the post-9/11 world -- appear in "The Partly-Cloudy Patriot", which was an easy purchase once I saw Vowell's name on the cover. I confess, even though I hear a lot os in the former Confederacy, and walked hurriedly through the Book Depository museum at Dealey Plaza so I could get back to a hotel room in Arlington and watch the "American Idol" finale. I think Vowell would approve of my choice (Ruben over Clay, that is). The most timely topic in the collection is also one of the shortest articles: "Rosa Parks, C'est Moi". There's a universal truth here. In American politics, once someone compares themselves to Thomas Jefferson, they've already lost the debate. When a triumphant athlete quotes Lou Gehrig's "luckiest man on the face of the Earth", you know he has well and truly lost the plot. And when some cf NPR while driving cross-country for work, I've still never heard Vowell on the air. I did see her on one of the first post-9/11 editions of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", but mostly I'm here as a fan of her written work, especialy her last collection, "Take the Cannoli". Like "Cannoli", "Patriot" is a grab-bag of short features that mix Vowell's family life with her thoughts on American cultural heritage. There's really not a bad article in the bunch, though I feel (as I did with the last book) that many of them end too abruptly, as if she were warming up to her theme and then suddenly moved on to the next topic. She talks about the history of mapmaking, and then switches gears to eulogize that great evangelist, Tom Landry. She never lingers on the subject long enough to beat it into the ground, and intentionally leaves a lot unsaid. The book's centerpiece is "The Nerd Voice", a proud article about the place of the nerd in American society, told in two parts -- first from the inauguration of George W. Bush, and then in an interview with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" writer Doug Petrie. A later chapter in the same vein cover's Vowell's fascination with America's most famous bookworm warrior, Teddy Roosevelt, who famously read "Anna Karenina" while on a cattle drive. That fascinates me too. I carried a "Doctor Who" novel through the battlefield at Shiloh. No Teddy Roosevelt, I. Along the way, Vowell schleps to Gettysburg, the Salem witch museums, an underground cafeteria at Carlsbad Caverns, and a local arcade where she plays penny basketball. I really admire this lifestyle. In the past year I have traipsed through two Civil War battlefieldheap dime-store iconoclast professes to be the next Rosa Parks, it's time to ask for the check. Sarah Vowell probably could have gotten a whole book just out of this alone.. but settled for less than five pages. Ideally, the next Sarah Vowell collection will feature a return to the Richard Nixon presidential libraries... in the midst of a mini-review of "The Big Lebowski".
Rating:
Summary: Forecast for Vowell is clear sailing...
Review: I've been a big fan of Vowell's since her extraordinary obit for Frank Sinatra in 1999 on Salon.com. Her last book of essays was wonderfully eclectic. This one is a bit less personal and more about history and America itself. Vowell shone in her autobiographical essays in Take the Cannoli. Here, she has very few missteps (the Tom Cruise essay was not something I fully got), but her Gettysburg address essay is outstanding. She is full of liberal politics, but also is NEVER predictable. She loves her country and writes movingly of her place in it. She is one of Generation X's finest spokespeople. Bless her and America.
Rating: 
Summary: Patriotic and more
Review: I was hooked from the opening essay about the Gettysburg Address. It's hard for Vowell to sustain the high quality of that opener throughout the book, but she comes close far more often than not. And not every essay is directly about one form or another of patriotism -- for example, her piece on Thanksgiving has more to do with her and her family than with pilgrims and native Americans, but it's still a tremendous piece of writing. Perhaps best of all, this book has prompted me to embrace my inner civics nerd self. Thanks, Sara!
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Summary: More Smart, Witty Vowell!
Review: Sarah Vowell is that rare writer who manages to be sarcastic and cynical, but still respectful and downright witty as can be. Her follow-up to "Take the Cannoli" is just as good, but in a different way. Whereas "Take the Cannoli" was more about her coming-of-age and life experiences, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is mainly her take on recent political and news events. She manages to put her own personal spin on what has transpired, never sugar-coating her views, but she keeps the humor alive throughout. Her take on the fiasco that was the 2000 election is both hysterically funny and profoundly sad. Sarah Vowell has an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the USA and is an unapologetic nerd, while also being as hip as other writers in her particular genre. She also tosses in anecdotes from her life for good measure. She and her fraternal twin sister are as different as ever; her sister is now married, has a child, and is still living in Montana. Sarah now lives in New York City, and hosts her family for Thanksgiving, much to her eternal regret. The differences between Sarah Vowell and her family and upbringing are funny and witty, not filled with angst. It is a rare writer who can produce two such very good books, without peaking on their first, and just putting out a second book as an afterthought. I look forward to so much more from the incredibly talented Sarah Vowell.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and funny -
Review: I'm just not sure which adjective to emphasize here. The only thing that would make these essays better is to hear Sarah reading them, but they are witty, well thought out, and, well, they just make you happy.
Rating:
Summary: The Liberal Patriot
Review: Vowell's love for the left is trumped only by her love for civics. In this book she talks about he political ideas and times that they have made he think or act in a way that seems remarkable when translated to the page. Vowell lives what seems like a rather ordinary life, but her writing style allows you to identify with her and want to read more. Maybe it's when she delves into her personal life that keeps me reading, or maybe it's because her politics so closely match my own. Either way I couldn't put this book down until I was finished, and even after that I was quoting it to friends and making them sit down and read passages, sections, or the whole book.
Rating:
Summary: Just the liberal voice we need!
Review: I first saw Sarah Vowell on C-Span, answering questions after a book reading. She looks like a baby Bette Davis with a stringy bob and she talks with her hands. Someone asked her who her favorite comedian was and she said, "Don Rickles. He'd kill you people in the front row in the sweaters. He'd just kill you."
When the session was over, I wanted more so I bought THE PARTLY-CLOUDY PATRIOT.
The book reads more like a journal than a collection of essays. Perhaps the best one is about Al Gore. Sarah Vowell sees herself as a nerd and although she's a staunch democrat she most readily identifies with other nerds. Al Gore wrote a book on the environment, among other nerdish things, so he qualifies. This essay resonated with me because I've often wondered why we don't have more stringent requirements for the job of president.
Another sample of her caustic wit was her essay on Teddy Roosevelt, who was part nerd and part adventurer. Her father used to tell her about Teddy's problems with asthma. He could do nothing except stay in bed and read. "Ew," said her sister. "Sigh," said Sarah. Staying in bed all day was a lifelong ambition for her.
I have to admit that I was expecting THE PARTLY-CLOUDY PATRIOT to be a real slam session, but that's not the case. Sarah attends George W. Bush's inauguration, bending over backwards to be fair. Although she cries when W. takes the oath, she chastises a friend who boos Staff Sergeant Alec T. Maly when he sings "My Country 'Tis of Thee."
Sarah Vowell is a commentator on National Public Radio's THIS AMERICAN LIFE. I'd like to see her on national television crossing swords with the conservative blowhards.
Rating:
Summary: Light reading
Review: The essays that comprise this work are fun, although a bit shallow in places. Ms. Vowell has a nice dry sense of humor, but that alone does not make her a fine writer. Perhaps it is unfair to compare her with Molly Ivins--yet. And maybe Sarah Vowell just needs a few more years of seasoning before her words catch and hold a subject for a real examination.
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