This is a very different book than lighthearted Assassination Vacation. In some ways much more opinionated. I should probably say right away that Sarah Vowell tells you she is an atheist in the book. That didn't bother me, but it might bother some people. I would say she is a searching Atheist. She is trying to understand the motives behind why the early settlers (very religious) did what they did, and I think she does an amazing job of revealing the personalities of the people she researches. She doesn't mock religion, but she does point out hypocrisy (in herself, as well). Through her wit and wisdom, these people really came alive for me. She does inject some of her political opinion, and while I didn't always agree, I enjoyed the book. It has left me thinking about my decisions and opinions as a Christian. I learned a lot about the leaders who settled and taught in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island areas. ( )

Liked the book a lot - felt like I got a much better understanding of early Massachusetts and Rhode Island colonial history. Winthrop, Cotton, Roger Williams, Ann Hutchinson, etc. I felt a little uneasy trusting Vowell since she’s not a “real” historian, and there isn’t the usual trappings of footnotes etc. I hope what I read was more or less accurate. It was a really fun read in any event. ( )

Had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but the Brady Bunch was dropped in at just the right moment to keep me reading. Vowell is strongest when she's tying in pop culture and contemporary events. Enjoyed the dry sarcasm. She's made me think about Anne Hutchinson in a whole new way. Not a strong finish, the book seemed to fizzle out. This was my first Vowell book and I plan to eventually try another. I'm told that this is not her strongest book. ( )

my one problem with this book was this: considering that i could "listen" to sarah vowell all day long, the fact that she included no chapter breaks meant that i looked up from this book to realize that i hadn't gotten out of bed yet, and that the day had driven headlong into what could almost be described as evening. heavy price to pay for a few pages over coffee.
and i suppose that, really, that is no problem at all; except that the lack of chapters also seemed, in this case, to equal a lack of overbearing structure to the tale she was telling; which, like the above "complaint," and the reason why i use the word "overbearing," is really not so bad, either. the tale of the massachusetts bay colony swerves from the sailing of ships from britain to the iraq war to the protestant reformation to roger williams back to the founding of the massachusetts bay colony. and back to the iraq war. and then on from there. and back, and on.
i guess i am trying to say that i really enjoyed this book, and its historical nerdiness, and all that ms. vowell does in the name of history and nerds and nerdy historians and historical nerds. i recommend it to everyone and their moms (as all the people who are buying it in our store seem to be buying it for their moms).
so, yeah. ( )

Not as witty as her other books, but still informative. It's another reminder that people have been crazy since the dawn of time. Especially in politics. ( )