The Partly Cloudy Patriot

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Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and, in doing so, investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. In this insightful and funny collection of personal stories Vowell -- widely hailed for her inimitable stories on public radio's This American Life -- ponders a number of curious questions: Why is she happiest when visiting the sites of bloody struggles like Salem or Gettysburg? Why do people always inappropriately compare themselves to Rosa Parks? Why is a bad life in sunny California so much worse than a bad life anywhere else? What is it about the Zen of foul shots? And, in the title piece, why must doubt and internal arguments haunt the sleepless nights of the true patriot?

Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, themes, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration.

The result is a teeming and engrossing book, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.

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Still, it was better than some other commentaries out there, but just not as witty (but always just as insightful) as I would have expected. I have to admit that I was pretty disappointed. I love Sarah Vowell, but this wasn't her best.

I first learned who Sarah Vowell is, not from her books or from her appearances on NPR, but from a short film about her and one of her books that was on the DVD of "The Incredibles." That film interested me enough to read her books and I have been well rewarded. Vowell would feel the same way eight years after writing them. As you might expect from an author who writes essays about current events, many of her essays have not aged well. Other topics include the presidential election of 2000 and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Do I really care what Ms. And overall, there is no theme to carry the book along. Vowell wrote for various publications in the period from about 1998 to 2002. Vowell thought about Tom Cruise ten years ago.Anyway, there are some good hits among the misses in this group of essays and if you are a fan of Ms. They vary in quality and, after ten years, interest. This book is one of her oldest and is a collection of essays that she wrote for various publications.

These are just random essays that Ms. Vowell's writing, this is worth reading while you wait for her next book to come along. The essays cover various topics including trips to North Dakota to see where Teddy Roosevelt lived during his sojourn in the west, a cafeteria at the bottom of the Carlsbad Cavern, Tom Landry, Canadians, and growing up with a fraternal twin sister. It is these essays that seem like ancient history now and reading them makes you wonder if Ms.

Highly recommended. This book is just plain fun to read. The writing is funny and the subject matter is truly interesting.

One caveat - this particular book includes a lot of current day political commentary and would not be well received by a political conservative. These are traits I admire. This is the first book of Vowell's I have read and I'll read the rest of her work since I enjoyed this one so much. I first saw her on The Daily Show talking about "The Wordy Pilgrims." She has a dry wit and is happy to make fun of herself.

If you lean left, you will appreciate her youthful voice and honesty. I've seen Sarah Vowell on various programs discussing her books, but it took me way too long to actually read one. Great fun. Her essays are mostly political, but also include universal topics like holidays with the family. She is hilarious and insightful. She is liberal, so if you don't align that direction you are most likely not going to enjoy her writing.