Vowell examines what she sees as the cascading effects of the Puritans’ arrival, drawing a straight line from Massachusetts Bay to Abu Ghraib. She likes to visit the places most relevant to her subjects too we learn, for instance, that a Boston jewelry store now occupies the site where Mistress Anne’s house once stood.

Previously she was obsessed with America’s political assassinations here she pores over the texts-the many texts-of the principals who interest her: John Cotton, John Winthrop and Roger Williams, in addition to the aforementioned Hutchinson and Endecott. The author’s characteristic devotion to detail is also evident. Thou shalt enjoy it.NPR contributor Vowell ( Assassination Vacation, 2005, etc.) takes a hard but affectionate look at the legacy of those doughty, slightly deranged Puritans who landed in the New World in 1630.įans will be pleased to see that Vowell’s admittedly smart-alecky style is alive and well: It’s not every historical monograph that tosses together Anne Hutchinson and Nancy Drew, Dolly Parton and John Endecott. The Wordy Shipmates is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices. She takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Sarah Vowell's special brand of armchair history makes the bizarre and esoteric fascinatingly relevant and fun. What was the Puritans' pet name for the Pope? The Great Whore of Babylon. Was Rhode Island's architect, Roger Williams, America's founding freak or the father of the First Amendment? Same difference. Was Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop a communitarian, a Christ-like Christian, or conformity's tyrannical enforcer? Answer: Yes! Their story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who were these people who are considered the philosophical, spiritual, and moral ancestors of our nation? The people she finds are highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty. Even today, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means - and what it should mean. New York Times bestselling author Sarah Vowell explores the Puritans and their journey to America in The Wordy Shipmates.

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell