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Description
The Wordy Shipmates is New York Times–bestselling author Sarah Vowell’s exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill”—a shining example, a “city that cannot be hid.”
To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means— and what it should mean. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who were these people who are considered the philosophical, spiritual, and moral ancestors of our nation? What Vowell discovers is something far different from what their uptight shoe-buckles-and- corn reputation might suggest. The people she finds are highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty. Their story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance. Along the way she asks:
* Was Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop a communitarian, a Christlike Christian, or conformity’s tyrannical enforcer? Answer: Yes!
* Was Rhode Island’s architect, Roger Williams, America’s founding freak or the father of the First Amendment? Same difference.
* What does it take to get that jezebel Anne Hutchinson to shut up? A hatchet.
* What was the Puritans’ pet name for the Pope? The Great Whore of Babylon.
Sarah Vowell’s special brand of armchair history makes the bizarre and esoteric fascinatingly relevant and fun. She 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. Thou shalt enjoy it.
Customer reviews for 'The Wordy Shipmates'
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Interesting history, but a bit too "wordy"
I've been a longtime fan of Sarah Vowell. Unfortunately, this isn't my favorite book of hers. What I really love about her other books is that I can pick them up, read a chapter or two, put it down and come back to it a couple of weeks or months later and read a little more. The chapters tend to be self-contained little stories. She dives in for a little taste of something, explores it, add some anecdotes and then moves on. This book is different in that it's all one in depth look at the Massachusetts Bay Puritans, well, more specifically, one of those Puritans (Winthrop).
Before this book, I was not very familiar with the subject, but I love history so I enjoyed learning more about the Puritans. It's just that it's a little too much. This would have been better as a shorter piece in one of her books covering several subjects. It's great history, it's just a little more in depth than I really needed.
[Thursday, November 20, 2008]
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Great for lovers of Vowell, the rest should give her a chance
I have listened to other audiobooks by Sarah Vowell have enjoyed them all. Her voice can be a little jarring for those who have only listened to honey-toned narrators of audiobooks. What makes it so important to hear these books in her voice is the obvious love of her subjects. Vowell's specialty is bringing to life what were previously obscure moments in history. In the Wordy Shipmates she tells the story of 17th century New England Puritans and their battles with themselves and the native Americans. She excels at finding 21st century analogies to illustrate the perceptions of 17th century people. You will always learn a lot from a Sarah Vowell book and this is no exception.
My only quibble is that I was expecting to hear more about the Plymouth settlers. This book discusses mostly the period of 1630 to 1690. This as a great listen just before our USA Thanksgiving celebration. I have a new understanding beyond the stereotype of some of the first Europeans who shaped our country's principles, both good and bad.
[Thursday, November 20, 2008]
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Sarah Vowell Explains It all To You!
By "All" I mean the Puritans, the founding of the Massachussetts Bay Colony, and the subsequent role these events had in the development of the United States and the strange and wonderful notion of "American Exceptionalism."
And she manages to make it funny and interesting, no mean feat in my opinion.
I became interested in this book after seeing her on The Daily Show. I thought she was amusing, and Jon Stewart was clearly smitten with her, so when the opportunity arose for me to listen to The Wordy Shipmates, I jumped at the chance. I know some people find her voice, imagine Cindy Brady all grown up and sardonic, annoying, but I rather liked Sarah Vowell's narration. She wrote the book, so she knows where all its sweet spots are, and she uses them to great narrative effect. She has a tendency, in her storytelling to wander off down little historical and pop culture side alleys, another feature of the book some found annoying, but I rather liked. Listening to these CDs was like listening to a chatty friend tell you all the old gossip about John Winthrop and Anne Hutchinson and the Pequots and all those other early colonists who are only vaguely half-remembered, and even then, only as stereotypical Puritan types with stern visages and starched white collars.
For those of you who didn't know where Ronald Regan got his rhetorical image of America as a shining city on a hill, it comes from John Winthrop's great Sermon, A Model of Christian Charity. He got his imagery from the Bible. This image, and the belief it fostered that the Almighty has had a role in this country's Great Experiment, is the foundation, she argues, of the notion of American Exceptionalism.
[Thursday, November 20, 2008]
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