Assassination Vacation

Sarah Vowell tracks the site-specific histories of the three American presidents murdered before the Secret Service provided permanent protection: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley. She visits the Ford’s Theatre box, the Oneida Community’s utopian ruins, and the Buffalo fairgrounds to reconstruct the lives and delusions of the killers John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, and Leon Czolgosz. Vowell connects these violent acts to broader cultural shifts, examining how nineteenth-century religious fervor, political spoils systems, and anarchism shaped the trajectory of the modern American executive office.

History enthusiasts who prefer cynical wit over dry academic prose find value in this unconventional travelogue. Readers walk away with a peculiar inventory of architectural trivia, medical failures, and grim anecdotes regarding national mourning rituals. The book serves those who enjoy finding dark humor in the intersection of tourism and tragedy, offering a specific lens for viewing how the United States memorializes its political martyrs.

Outward-looking; an easy read.

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