If you don’t know who author/actor Sarah Vowell is, please educate yourself immediately. She’s written several non-fiction novels regarding US history and historical trips she’s taken and I’m obsessed with them. (Fun note: She’s also the voice of Violet in The Incredibles!) In fact, I find her so interesting I’ve put her on my “Celebrity Dinner Party” list.
Her latest novel, Lafayette In The Somewhat United States, details how the Marquis de Lafayette came here from France during the American Revolution to assist the revolutionaries and ended up becoming instrumental in George Washington’s army and the eventual success in breaking us from King George’s England.
Vowell’s writing is in-depth, but not cumbersome. She blends personal stories with factual writing about the battles and historical figures; it makes your trip through these pages feel like a road trip to a historical site, but with your best friend.
In today’s political climate, more and more people need to educate themselves on the history of how our country was founded and realize that the men and women who founded our (Somewhat) United States aren’t just cardboard cutouts on your classroom wall, but real people who fought and died so we could be free. Ms. Vowell’s book is better than a history book – it’s an education.
If you like reading history at all, I recommend you check out Ms. Vowell’s books – all of them. If you don’t like reading history at all, give this one a try anyway!
We All Need More Sarah Vowell In Our Reading Lives
