Ayman Askar Askar itibaren Zaporiz'ke, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrayna
First off - wow. A Pulitzer? In any case - it's a quick read and I think the first story was probably the best. The last one was pretty solid too. She writes quite vividly and expressively - you really feel a depth to a lot of the characters in spite of the brevity of each story, but that's more because the characters are easily relatable. Just wasn't floored, though I couldn't help but attempt to relate by creating parallel stories involving my heritage and family's story of immigration and assimilation. Oh well. And I think my desire to read/watch the Namesake has stayed pretty much the same, which is maybe-a-book-on-tape/if-somebody-rented-it-and-I-don't-have-to-pay.
I never thought American history would be this funny. Sara Vowell does immense research and places it within her own story and filters it through her own witty observations. My favorite part about her writing is her awareness and discovery of unimportant but intriguing coincidences and factoids. I laughed out loud numerous times throughout this book and am now tempted to visit historical sights relating to dead presidents. All that said I think I should put a disclaimer in for my more conservative friends and family (mostly family). Vowell is a liberal who is very partisan. She doesn't like the people you like and she is not afraid to say it right up front. That said, she lets you know who she is from the beginning and if you can get over that she doesn't like Reagan, you will find that she loves America and it's history and you will actually find many points to agree with her on.
A chilling account of the group think, arrogance, and downright stupidity of American policy makers unwilling to understand a new paradigm.