Book Review: Assassination Vacation

Found in one of those little library boxes outside a church in our neighborhood. For free. I've been meaning to read this for a while because I love history and this looked like an interesting read. Sarah Vowell takes us on a funny, quirky road trip down American history lane. With her sister and macabre-obsessed toddler nephew, Vowell visits various locations associated with the assassinations of three presidents--Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley. Along the way, she offers views on the current state of our nation, drawing parallels between the McKinley and Bush administrations (the book was written during the Iraq war). There are also fascinating recreations of each shocking moment of violence, the bizarre coincidence that Robert Lincoln, Abe's eldest, was present for all three killings, and the state of our union during the various time periods. Enjoyable and sharp.

Presidents' Day in Pop Culture

Paul Giamatti as John Adams in HBO's mini-series
on the second president and father of the sixth

In celebration of Presidents' Day, I've decided to list every US president I've seen portrayed in a movie, TV show, or on stage and the actor who played him that I can think of. Of course, this discounts fictional presidents such as Josiah Bartlett, Art Hockstatter, or the one Patty Duke played on that short-lived sitcom from Susan Harris (Soap). I'm sure I'll leave out plenty, but here are all the ones that come to mind without doing too much research--cause this is just for fun.

George Washington--Barry Bostwick (that CBS miniseries); David Morse (John Adams on HBO)

John Adams--George Grizzard (The Adams Chronicles); William Daniels (1776); Paul Giamatti (John Adams on HBO); Brent Spiner (1776 revival from Roundabout)