Rating: 
Summary: Just the liberal voice we need!
Review: I first saw Sarah Vowell on C-Span, answering questions after a book reading. She looks like a baby Bette Davis with a stringy bob and she talks with her hands. Someone asked her who her favorite comedian was and she said, "Don Rickles. He'd kill you people in the front row in the sweaters. He'd just kill you."
When the session was over, I wanted more so I bought THE PARTLY-CLOUDY PATRIOT.
The book reads more like a journal than a collection of essays. Perhaps the best one is about Al Gore. Sarah Vowell sees herself as a nerd and although she's a staunch democrat she most readily identifies with other nerds. Al Gore wrote a book on the environment, among other nerdish things, so he qualifies. This essay resonated with me because I've often wondered why we don't have more stringent requirements for the job of president.
Another sample of her caustic wit was her essay on Teddy Roosevelt, who was part nerd and part adventurer. Her father used to tell her about Teddy's problems with asthma. He could do nothing except stay in bed and read. "Ew," said her sister. "Sigh," said Sarah. Staying in bed all day was a lifelong ambition for her.
I have to admit that I was expecting THE PARTLY-CLOUDY PATRIOT to be a real slam session, but that's not the case. Sarah attends George W. Bush's inauguration, bending over backwards to be fair. Although she cries when W. takes the oath, she chastises a friend who boos Staff Sergeant Alec T. Maly when he sings "My Country 'Tis of Thee."
Sarah Vowell is a commentator on National Public Radio's THIS AMERICAN LIFE. I'd like to see her on national television crossing swords with the conservative blowhards.
Rating:
Summary: Cute as Her Voice
Review: I had to get this book after hearing Vowell's interview on NPR. The Tom Landry story sold it to me ;) This is a perfect quick-read that like-minded Democrates will especially enjoy. She isn't malicious when criticizing and her sincerity will make you smile all the way through.
Rating:
Summary: I'd like to buy a Vowell . . .
Review: I read this book after finishing Take the Cannoli. I can't get enough Vowell lately! Combining humor, pop culture, and an astonishing knowledge of American history, this book is entertaining and educational. Vowell has a sense of hope about America. She knows that we have a great (although contradictory) past to live up to, and, despite some of the depressing news about our government lately, she thinks it's possible that we can still do our ancestry proud. Geez, if we were all citizens like her, I'll bet America would be in much better shape.
Rating: 
Summary: The most enchanting voice on earth
Review: I truly enjoyed reading this book, but it pales in comparison to listening to the 5 disc CD version that she reads. Sarah's voice and cadence add much to these essays. To me they are twice as funny and twice as endearing because of her remarkable speaking voice. Several reviewers have noted her NPR role on This American Life. However, she and that fabulous show are on PRI(Public Radio International).
Rating:
Summary: I appreciate her dry wit
Review: I was first introduced to Sarah Vowell when flipping through the channels on television. I stopped on a program on the Discovery Channel, where several authors were invited to speak at some sort of event. Sarah has this somewhat annoying, nasaly sound to her voice that is at once both annoying and completely endearing. After listening to her speak, I bought The Partly Cloudy Patriot on a whim, and was completely taken in.Sarah Vowell is, at heart, a hip, nerdish, Gen-Xer like me. She has a special knack for story-telling. When I read this book, I was reminded of David Sedaris in some ways. I enjoyed it as much as Sedaris, but for different reasons. While Sedaris' anecdotes are "laugh out loud" funny, Sarah's stories are told with a dry, subtle wit. I look forward to reading more of her work.
Rating:
Summary: Patriotic and more
Review: I was hooked from the opening essay about the Gettysburg Address. It's hard for Vowell to sustain the high quality of that opener throughout the book, but she comes close far more often than not. And not every essay is directly about one form or another of patriotism -- for example, her piece on Thanksgiving has more to do with her and her family than with pilgrims and native Americans, but it's still a tremendous piece of writing. Perhaps best of all, this book has prompted me to embrace my inner civics nerd self. Thanks, Sara!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and funny -
Review: I'm just not sure which adjective to emphasize here. The only thing that would make these essays better is to hear Sarah reading them, but they are witty, well thought out, and, well, they just make you happy.
Rating: 
Summary: As a (longishtime) fan, I'm not so pleased...
Review: I've always found myself enthralled by Sarah's work--be it with McSweeney's, Ira Glass, David Sedaris, or even on, of all things, TV. I thought "Take the Cannoli" was simply delightful...so much so that I promptly assigned it to my senior-level seminar in organizational theory, eventually justifying it's selection solely on the merits of "general principle." "Much like Weber's writings on bureaucracy, Vowell's work is foundational!" I intoned. The extra credit question on the final exam read "Which 21st century writer's work could hold it's own against the likes of Weber, Durkheim and Simmel on an Entertainment Tonight poll?"
As a fan, I dig her playful, innocent-yet-incisive voice, the unabashed interest in geekdom, etc. Moreover, it's pretty clear that we've both shared all-too-many of the same experiences, even down to our public fondness--and focused interest in--the obscurest of rock musicians, national monuments and cinematic moments. Perhaps it's this same kind focused interest (in this case regarding her work) that explains why I took the time to actually log on to Amazon and offer these comments. Namely, the voice of "Take the Cannoli,"--the voice which seems to so effortlessly reach a broad audience while discussing seemingly mundane subject matter (e.g. her dad's homemade canons)--seems on this outing to be a little, well, lost. In place of essays regarding a father's interest in canons, one's early experiences in marching band or the role of mixed tapes in nailing down a future mate, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is built from the more common, familiar terrains of politics, ideology and history. And while it's not the case that her writing is any less "sharp" or "insightful"--lord know I wish I could master her sense of economy--our collective preoccupation and familiarity with her chosen landscapes (old presidents, the civil war, 9/11, the last presidential election, etc.) somehow leaves less room for her own literary talents/gifts to peek through. I guess you could say it's harder for Sarah to sound like Sarah when she's chiming in on the same debates my dogmatic, political friends are always blathering on about Though admittedly, she does so with infinitely more grace and style! Or maybe a clearer way of putting this is to say that I think this style works best when the author is able to find the most familiar of stories and/or subject matter in the unlikliest of places. Or something like that anway...
Rating:
Summary: Forecast for Vowell is clear sailing...
Review: I've been a big fan of Vowell's since her extraordinary obit for Frank Sinatra in 1999 on Salon.com. Her last book of essays was wonderfully eclectic. This one is a bit less personal and more about history and America itself. Vowell shone in her autobiographical essays in Take the Cannoli. Here, she has very few missteps (the Tom Cruise essay was not something I fully got), but her Gettysburg address essay is outstanding. She is full of liberal politics, but also is NEVER predictable. She loves her country and writes movingly of her place in it. She is one of Generation X's finest spokespeople. Bless her and America.
Rating:
Summary: A unique collection
Review: I've taken a fancy to memoirs and essays lately, and Vowell's stands out among them - primarily because most of her essays have a political/patriotic/historical flavor to them. It's a refreshing change from the typical tales of love, work, and foibles that are in many memoirs.
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