Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation basically explores the three presidential assassinations that took place in our nation's history. Vowell literally explores various historical sites related to Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley, discussing both the actual events that took place and the influences of pop culture on how we view these events. She combines history with current events, an approachwhich is not taken nearly oftenenough in today's social studies classrooms. Not only is this book a great take on history, but it's also incredibly witty, and looks at history in a way that makes it fun. Admittedly, Vowell's humor may offend the prudes among or within us, but for those of us who can appreciate a good (even if dirty) punchline, this book provides a brutal honesty depicting Vowell's and sometimes even our views of the country. Vowell is unafraid to express her opinoin,and her views on politics are clearly liberal, but these realities are part of what makes Assassination Vacation such a delight to read. Vowell talks about the presidents themselves--their lives and, to some extent, their achievements(although she seems to discuss Teddy Roosevelt more than she does McKinley in the chapter that was supposed to be dedicated to the McKinley assassination, which was somewhat of a disappointment), and she explores the motivations each assassin had for murdering a president. Vowell also admits that she has a difficult time symphathizing with the assassins' political views, saying, "The closest I've ever come to anarchy is buying a Sex Pistols record." (Another point in Vowell's favor: excellent taste in music.) Though the best qualityof the book is that it shows that history can be found on virtually every street corner, if you're looking for it. And it can be fun.