So the Superbowl is super lame this year, so why not read my blog instead. That should kill a few minutes. Speaking of killing, I recently read Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (AKA Violet from The Incredibles). The book follows Vowell as she drags various friends and family members to an assortment of historical sites related to the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. The book is divided into 3 sections, one for each president, and covers a lot of obscure factoids that I never knew. In one of my favorite moments, Sarah, in her own dry way, leads us on an evaluation of the laugh line in the play that Lincoln was watching when he got shot. Yep, turns out Boothe waited for a laugh line so the audience would cover the sound of the gun. On one hand, that's really messed up. On the other hand, as Vowell points out, Lincoln got to die with a smile on his face. On the other other hand, the joke is terrible and doesn't translate to modern times.
This is just one of the many helpful things you will learn on this delightfully wry and rambling tour of some of the darkest moments of our nations history. If you are only going to read one book about presidential assassinations while relaxing on the beach in Mexico, make it this one.
9/10
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