{"product_id":"2940170538195","title":"Assassination Vacation (Abridged)","description":"Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With \u003ci\u003eAssassination Vacation,\u003c\/i\u003e she takes us on a road trip like no other--a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage. \u003cbr\u003e From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present at the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue--it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and--the author's favorite--historical tourism. \u003cbr\u003e Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican Party became the Republican Party, there are lighter diversions into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth-century biblical sex cult. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eConan O'Brien\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Todd Lincoln \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eEric Bogosian\u003c\/b\u003e John Wilkes Booth\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eStephen King\u003c\/b\u003e President Abraham Lincoln\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDave Eggers\u003c\/b\u003e Mike Ryan \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eCatherine Keener\u003c\/b\u003e Gretchen Worden \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJon Stewart\u003c\/b\u003e President James A. Garfield\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTony Kushner\u003c\/b\u003e John Humphrey Noyes\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eBrad Bird\u003c\/b\u003e Charles Guiteau \u0026amp; Emma Goldman\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDaniel Handler\u003c\/b\u003e President William McKinley\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eGreg Giraldo\u003c\/b\u003e President Theodore Roosevelt \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDavid Rakoff\u003c\/b\u003e Leon Czolgosz","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47117355745520,"sku":"2940170538195","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170538195_p0.jpg?v=1763711786","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170538195","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}