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.

Vowell also mentions that there's a statue to Anne Hutchinson not far from Winthrop's grave, in which I hope he has done a bit of turning. Bush and John Kerry, respectively - and that 'in this instance it's the Hutchinson who is flummoxed by his opponent's nonsensical answers'. Fun note: Vowell points out that the 2004 presidential debates pitted a descendant of Hutchinson against a descendant of Winthrop - George W. The section on Anne Hutchinson was fascinating, too frustrating as well, to read her responses to Winthrop's charges - she comes across as very sensible, and he seems to be unable to respond with anything better than 'we do not mean to discourse with those of your sex'. It looks like it was designed by Ralph Lauren, Bugsy Siegel, and Willy Wonka after a night of peyote.

This was very strong stuff, but Vowell likes to change it up: 'After the Mystic massacre movie ends, Amy and Owen and I leave the museum and repair to our nearby hotel, the Mohegan Sun Casino, operated by the Mohegan tribe. At least he had the sense to close his eyes at some point a wise child knows his own limits! It's not surprising that it didn't make it into my grade-school classroom, I suppose, as illustrated by the reaction of Vowell's young nephew Owen, whom she took to see a filmed reenactment. The tragedy of the Mystic Fort massacre was new to me. Īs with Vowell's other books, this one added some must-see spots to my list, most of 'em in Boston, where I've probably walked by some of them without taking any particular notice. I've enjoyed several of Vowell's books very much, including Take the Cannoli and Assassination Vacation, and this one's also excellent: informative, often shocking, and sometimes hilarious - who'd have thought I'd be using words like that about a book on a Puritan settlement? While some of the basic information was known to me, there was a lot more that I didn't know, and having so much of the action take place in the Boston/Providence/Hartford region made it more immediate somehow. I found this hardcover in this Little Free Library in Nashua NH while dropping off some books of my own, and nabbed it for another release copy.

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell