The Wordy Shipmates

The Puritans were America's first rap stars.

In her latest book The Wordy Shipmates, fiercely witty author Sarah Vowell revisits the motley crew of European expatriates who provided a foundation to our country. As witnessed through the vivid language of speeches, debates and verbal catfights, these literary innovators created a layered story of stoic ideals, dramatic controversy, and rugged but determined heroism. All of this blockbuster drama is woven into the syllables of American history. A few brave colonists took a chance on ship across the angry Atlantic and became the nation's first jet-setting rebels. Who were these star-spangled celebrities? The Puritans.

The word 'Puritan' does not bring to mind the glitz and glamour of a fight for democracy and independence. Most Americans conjure a few images of Thanksgiving and thankless manual labor at the very mention of the word. A 'Puritan work ethic' is the most enduring image of these original New Englanders, but Sarah Vowell makes it apparent that it is their spirit for new ideas and quest to become the idyllic "city upon a hill" that has permeated the root of American culture and society. Though the sentiment behind the words may have witnessed several transformations, America remains a nation of words just as the Puritans who landed in New England in 1630.

Sarah Vowell reminds us of how much we didn't learn in history class about our assumed ancestry. She guides both the casual and avid American historian on a journey of words from stormy England across the sea to the colony of Massachusetts Bay. Among the most purely Puritan of the cast of shipmates included in the story are the persistent and stoic governor John Winthrop and his right-hand minister John Cotton. Providing drama are the colony's premiere upstarts such as "American Jezebel" Anne Hutchinson, a woman who dared to have some words of her own, and Roger Williams, whose rebellious and shocking ideas led to such American standards as freedom of speech and separation of church and state.

Shipmates showcases not only history, but the vitality of real people who happened to set the stage for a future democracy. The reader is left with the sense of just how important words still are. The words of the past come back to form new styles of government. The words of today reflect a new way of saying an old idea. This book updates the Puritan image and interprets the words and concepts of our forefathers in an accessible format. Just as our Puritan ancestors, we have good intentions and we make mistakes, but still we encourage education, debate and the spirit of discovery. Sarah Vowell demonstrates an idea that I find to be comforting. America's wordy ship is still sailing. The Wordy Shipmates is a must ready for any American, historians and rap stars alike.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Terrific New Book

As anyone who has read any of Sarah Vowell's other books might have expected, this book is a terrific, enjoyable, and informative read. It's well-written, insightful, engaging, and a must-read for anyone who is interested in, knows about, or cares about history... or is just looking for a terrifically written, wonderful read. Highly recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Classic Sarah Vowell, Engaging Readers in Forgotten, Obscure, but Important Historical Topics and Revealing Their Present Day Relevancy

Starting with the oft-overlooked differences between Pilgrims and Puritans, Sarah Vowell dives in the world colonial Massachusetts to show that we are even today profoundly influenced by the thinking and rhetoric of those early colonists.

She addresses the career of John Winthrop who at times rules the early colony with a stern hand but still manages to recall from time to time the Christian principle of compassion. Vowell also gives us a look at the revolutionary philosophy of the gifted founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams and briefly touches on the fascinating Anne Hutchinson.

While the engaging humorous asides and breaks for her personal commentary that have marked her previous books are still in evidence and still endearing, they are fewer and farther between. There also seems to be a greater depth of research with more detail than earlier works. Less humor, more research and a topic like the Puritans may seem to make for a boring read...it doesn't.

What Sarah Vowell does is brilliant. Her treatment of the topic may not rise to the scholarly level of a history professor, but it is much more likely to be read and discussed. That's a very good thing. I'll be honest, I envy Sarah Vowell for her ability to commit to such a demanding topic and write about it with such genuine affection for some of the long dead figures that you wished the book were longer. She is a gifted writer and a gift to our country.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Royalists vs. Separatists

A nonfiction account of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who were loyalists, as opposed to the Puritans in Plymouth, who were separatists. Vowell presented both positive and negative aspects of the times, comparing past issues with similar ones today. Her story made the people seem more real to me. I enjoyed reading this candid version of history—much more complex than what I was taught in school.

A great history of the puritans

I never thought I'd read a book about religious zealots and never thought I'd be so satisfied with it. The book makes the case for the separation between church and state. I loved it.

Long winded at times, but worth it

I don't remember learning barely any of this in school, which says a lot about public school, or my memory.

In any case, this was a great read, even though i had to put it down at times to lumber through the slower parts.

Better than an AP Textbook

I had the choice to read this book or two others for a history assignment. I chose this one because the description said it was a lighter read, and after reading dense boring textbooks, that sounded like what I needed. And it really wasn't too dense. Sarah Vowell was very funny and very sarcastic, which lightened the reading a little, but still, this is a history book. Unless you like that kind of thing, this book wasn't very interesting. But still A LOT better than a normal textbook.

What? Religious freedom?

Sarah is again at her snarkiest as she pulls no punches in documenting the true objective of our Puritan settlers: LIMITED religious freedom.

Facinating and Funny

Vowell details the bickering amongst early collonists as if she were gossiping on the campus quad. Loved it!

Vowell Gives a Fun Voice to Boring Puritan Consonants

Sarah Vowell is a smart aleck who took the most boring subject (religious folk in old New England) and made it into an animated relevant event. Her style is a mixture of wise cracks and solid research. She takes a bunch of Puritans from hundreds of years ago and relates their dilemmas to present day events - thus puttting the reader in Puritan common sense decision trees. The book was not at all what I thought I wanted, but it was a great way to learn history - I consumed it greedily ... all dessert. I loved the style and want to have her teach me more boring subjects with the same gift for making it current and amusing.

I LOVED this book!

It's clear that Vowell has done a thorough job of research and knows her subject intimately. She has a wonderful rye sense of humor, enjoying all the contradictions and foibles of the various Puritans and Pilgrims. But she also has great affection for them. So she doesn't tear them down; she just shows how human they are.

Vowell not only thoroughly explains the historic context at the time, but also follows it through to today. Her take is unorthodox, but always thought-provoking and often laughter-provoking, too. This is actually an important book for us to read today, because these are our intellectual and often political & economic forebears and they still live on in us today.

Sarah Vowell does not disappoint!

Very early American history has never been as amusing or relevant as when Sarah Vowell turns her considerable wit and research on it. Perfect for anyone who enjoy's Vowell's wry outlook, or anyone who thinks history is boring, or, really, anyone who can read.

Great read.

Ms. Vowell is an excellent writer who knows her craft writing about a subject close to her heart. Does an excellent job of relating story to other historical events and the present.

See above

The not so dour Puritans

I hadn't read Sarah Vowell before, but I had read much on the Puritans. This book told me some things I hadn't known before. Somehow, most of the other 'scholars' managed to miss that the Puritans were in love with words. It doesn't surprise me though, but it's another instance of our not wanting to understand our physical and spiritual ancesters.
Wordy Shipmates starts with John Winthrop coming over on the ship. Winthrop, for good or ill, will be a presence in Massachusetts Bay, being several times elected governor. She highlights his statement of a "city on a hill". It rather ends with the Anne Hutchinson affair. Winthrop does not come off well in that. But then even his biographer Edmund Morgan damms him with faint praise over that mess.
I really appreciated Vowell's bringing the past into the present with her comments on how Reagan used Winthrop's 'city on a hill' image to highlight his, Reagan's vision of America. The one thing that Vowell didn't say, but implied was that America, at least the European colonist side is founded on a vision. A vision that, as with the Pequod war can get terribly mangled.

Maybe it is my background, but I have only one complaint about the book. Vowell says many times, I'm a 20th century woman, and I don't understand the mindset of these people.' It irks me because she does seem to understand them.

History Uncovered

The book was fascinating, interesting, informative. The writing was amusing and at times spellbinding. She may look at history differently from some professor; but I'd read her version than a dusty textbook.

Our Patriotic Ancestors Unravelled!

Nathaniel Hawthorne said it best about the Puritans examined, vilified and honored in this no-nonsense, all-points-of-view historical treatment by the iconoclastic Sarah Vowell, "Let us thank God for having given us such ancestors; and let each successive generation thank Him, not less fervently, for being one step further from them in the march of ages."

A pre-requisite for reading this book is the ability to hold focus, as the author dances between past and present with historical figures, events and analysis, not always in a linear fashion. But the work is well worth the effort, for here is an author who forces us to think about just much our ancestoral legacy has shaped our domestic and foreign political policy in and beyond America. And if the reader is too lazy to do so, well Ms. Vowell covers innumerable bases before she concludes with a realistic slam-dunk, home-run vision of Puritans shaping a new land.

It all begins with some terse debunking of our stereotypical, Brady-bunch Thanksgiving dinner style picture of Puritans sitting down with the native Indians. We get a full account of the Catholic-Protestant debate back home in merry 'ol England to the point where we realize that emigration was better than the looming death waiting off-stage had they remained in England. Ms. Vowell also gives us, through examination fo the writings of John Winthrop, a superb analysis of a successful leader in those times, an intelligent, dogmatic and even dictatorial guy who knew how to spin Biblical verses into sermons that guaranteed communal agreement and obedience to authority, meaning himself, of course. The vision is clearly set forth, one to which any American might gravitate in dark times: United we stand, Divided we fall. Simple!

A large portion of this account covers the hugely antagonistic relationship between John Winthrop and Roger Williams, the latter a more excessive version of Puritanism than even those staid Puritan figures who found entertainment in attending Church several times a week. Williams attempted to teach the Native Indians in Providence the concept of original sin; the results of that effort don't make for pretty reading, understandable as it may seem if one stops long enough to really think about hearing such an idea for the first time.

Finally, we have a brief but potent treatment of Anne Hutchinson, the Puritan "brain" of the bunch, the original American Oprah, who preached that one could only know if one were saved by "feeling" it. Excommunication to the Bronx followed her vociferous preaching; the uninhabited Bronx, not the presently densely populated city within a city.

Satire, alternatingly droll with interspersed raucous humor, reflection, challenge, and meditation fill these pages with so much history connected to Nixon, Reagan, 911 and so much more that the reader occasionally has to stop or risk overload. But it's an overload that is far too infrequently heard and a welcome, refreshing burst of fresh air whirling through older significant times to hopefully create a historical future different because of this notable reading experience. Finely, finely done!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on February 9, 2009

Sarah Vowell leaves us wanting more, but still a good read!

How could you find anything wrong with a work that points out the pecularities and hypocrisy of Ronald Reagan's use of Winthrop's Christian Charity, and references, with near glee, the progressive nature of the short-lived governorship of Henry Vane--a reference that most Americans would respond to with a confused wha'? Vowell did her homework and then some. It is extremely intelligent, well-researched, and entertaining. Though her quips and cheeky comments are scattered throughout the work, Sarah Vowell's approach is historian-ish (?) challenging the reader to explore the great political, social and theological themes surrounding the Massachusetts Bay Colony. For those of you that want the iconoclastic queen of Americana, she is still there, but with a lust for primary sources and hard research. Make sure that you like footnotes.

The Wordy Shipmates is a good read, but very quick. I've been waiting for this release for five months and I finished it within a few hours. Sarah Vowell fans will love the book, and so will casual readers of colonial history. Young social studies teachers and students should use this as an alternative approach to discussing the New England colonies and as a reference to the Pequot War, and the atrocities committed by both sides. Vowell's account of the Fort Mistic massacre is both descriptive and horrifying.

Entertaining, a quick read

Vowell illustrates a period in the history of New England that is glossed over in school. The actions and motivations of Winthrop and the other members of the Massachussetts Bay Colony (1630) clearly resonate in American history. Vowell's writing is clear and full of the funny asides that make her previous writing (Assassination Vacation, The Partly Cloudy Patriot) and her radio appearances (This American Life) so enjoyable. Look for an appearance by her nephew, Owen, who clearly epitomizes the average American schoolchild's reaction when asked to reconcile history as learned in the elementary school classroom with history as learned from the historical record.

Vowell remains the person you wish taught American history in high school

Sarah Vowell is the sort of person you desperately wish taught your high school American history class: smarter than anyone else in the room, a quirky sense of humor, full of random trivia and a genuine enthusiasm for her topic. Her 2005 effort ¿Assassination Vacation¿ may be one of the best books of this decade, looking at the macabre side of our executive branch with the voice of a skeptical fangirl. Now, with her latest title ¿The Wordy Shipmates,¿ Vowell has graduated from being the ideal high school teacher to the ideal college professor. It¿s a more professional work than her earlier titles, more akin to an academic essay than a road trip diary, but that doesn¿t keep it from being one of the best recent books on pre-Founding Fathers America. The ¿wordy shipmates¿ in question are the Puritans, most particularly a section which set sail from England in 1630 to settle in what would eventually become Boston. Vowell looks beyond the stereotype, viewing them as an optimistic, highly literate people who gave America more than a reputation for sexual repression. Their desire to write and express thought would give precedent for the First Amendment, and their leader John Winthrop would advocate ¿a city upon a hill¿ and lay the groundwork for America¿s centuries of self-importance. Winthrop, the political head of the settlement, is one of the main characters Vowell plays along with: he is a compassionate authoritarian who ordered a man¿s ears cut off, but postponed his exile until the harsh winter ended. He tried to keep his colony independent without agitating the English monarchy, but found himself up against personalities equally as forceful. On one hand was Roger Williams, a rabble-rouser who advocated separation of church and state to protect the church and whom Vowell sees as a perfect talk-show host in modern times. On the other was Anne Hutchinson, who challenged religious order and would have won all debates if she could only shut up for the closing statement. Vowell¿s books have been moving from essay collections to more cohesive history texts, and ¿The Wordy Shipmates¿ reflects this shift in style. There are no chapters or major separations between sections, and it focuses chiefly on analyzing documents such as Winthrop¿s journals and Williams¿ letters. It has the feel of a masters¿ thesis, which is not a condemnation ¿ Kurt Vonnegut earned a master¿s in anthropology for ¿Cat¿s Cradle¿ after all ¿ but after the ambling pace of ¿Assassination Vacation¿ it¿s certainly a shift to see Vowell spend most of her time in the library. The literary fascination of the Puritans may have rubbed off a little too heavily on Vowell, but a more formal structure isn¿t enough to silence her droll tone: she can recall enacting the fires of hell at Bible camp with puppets and flashlights and say how genuinely excited she was about a sitcom depicting the harsh winters Pilgrims had to endure. Fans of ¿Assassination Vacation¿ will be pleased to see she continues touring with her sister and niece, dragging them to Pilgrim reenactment villages and a museum neighboring an Indian casino. And these examples get to the core of what makes Vowell¿s writing such a treat: they¿re accessible in a way no other history writer is. She weaves mass media into these historical actions, comparing the founding of Massachusetts to a Bugs Bunny cartoon and Winthrop¿s feud with his deputy governor to a Nancy Drew mystery. Her analogies aren¿t there to distract a reader but draw them in further, doing exactly what a teacher should do: make you understand the argument. One passage in particular showcases her style, able to make a thesis statement in one sentence and convert it to pop culture in the next: ¿They personify what would become the fundamental conflict of American life ¿ between public and private, between the body politic and the individual, between we the people and each person¿s pursuit of happiness. At his city-on-a-hill best, Winth

No text was provided for this review.