Rating: 
Summary: Uneven, but mostly funny
Review: If you have never read Sarah Vowell and you would like to get the flavour of this book, give her a listen on National Public Radio. Her voice is consistent between the written and spoken word. She is very political and very Democratic, so that informs her writing. If open bias bothers you, or that particular bias bothers you, give this book a miss. The Buffy bit was very amusing, as were some of the historical passages. Some of the rest I found less. However, humour is notoriously subjective, so your mileage may vary. I found this book good reading on a gray, rainy day. It's not Pulitzer material, but it is a bit of sunshine for a dreary afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, if Unspectacular Sociopolitical Discourse.
Review: In "The Partly Cloudy Patriot", Vowell describes her sociopolitical perspective on the U.S. In a series of nineteen essays (many of which originally aired on her NPR program), she illustrates her observations with personal experiences and often uses pop-culture analogies for elucidation. She's a self-described "history geek", and she applies her impressive, encyclopedic knowledged effectively. Throughout much of the book, Vowell applies a dry humor mostly effectively; it's the type of humor that makes you chuckle consistently, but seldom generates robust laughter. Vowell is a warm, sincere essayist. Her casual prose and unique pop-culture approach is witty without ever being pendantic or condescending (if you've ever heard an interview, she's very self-effacing). Despite her leftist slant, her strongest essays offer keen observation of the uniqueness (for better and worse) of the collective American psyche. In "Cowboys v. Mounties", she compares the histories of the U.S. and Canada. Even though she's generally a fan of Canadians, something about them seems "off". In her experiences with The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, she learns what it is: Individual Canadians truly considering themselves a minor part of collective social fabric; their unerring modesty and politeness are characteristic of this and seem creepy to the American sense of individuality. In "Wonder Twins" she compares her relationship with her fraternal twin sister with that of Myanmar twins who briefly commanded a guerilla army. Some of her ideas seem a bit flimsy to me, but her assertions are usually interesting and worthy of consideration. Vowell's best essays make social observations rather than being overtly political. Vowell is less successful with her openly political essays. Even if you agree with her politics (which I often do), her unyielding ideological slant is usually an annoyance. The most egregious example is the seemingly interminable essay, "The Nerd Voice" (parts one and two). She expresses her frustration over the results of the 2000 presidential election and explains how Gore could have been a more effective candidate. Using several pop-culture analogies ["Revenge of the Nerds" (movie), "Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)] she tries to show how Gore could have presented himself as a likeable, self-effacing nerd (rather than the phony, unlikeable smarty-pants he campaigned as). The ideas in this essay are particularly shaky, and after thirty pages it amounts to little more than sour musings of a resentful Democrat. Most of her other politically oriented essays are shorter, but aren't much better. Reading "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is like having a casual conversation with an amusing history buff you might meet in a bar; instead talking about sports, you have a conversation about America. At her most insightful, Vowell reveals that all Americans share unique characteristics despite our individual differences. It isn't a literary masterpiece, but if you're in the mood for a couple hours of affable sociopolitical discourse it's an ideal book.
Rating: 
Summary: Hoorah for Sarah Vowell
Review: In these days of the Patriot Missle (R), the recently signed Patriot Act which makes it easier for the government to spy on you, the newly established Patriot's Day, and "love it of leave it" patriotism of cable news, finally Sarah Vowell brings some sense, humor and wisdom to the subject. These are warm, funny, and smart stories and I just think it would be a better and safer world if more people read them.
Rating:
Summary: A civic model for her generation
Review: Ms. Vowell is funny, cynical, and patriotic all at the same time. She uses her voice and her vote very effectively. A master of one-liners, she will make laugh but also think.
Rating:
Summary: A civic model for her generation
Review: Ms. Vowell is funny, cynical, and patriotic all at the same time. She uses her voice and her vote very effectively. A master of one-liners, she will make laugh but also think.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-proclaimed "citizenship geek" makes good
Review: Politics and government are not my usual thing, but I really enjoyed Sarah Vowell's book. Her sometimes Parkeresque wit (that's a compliment) keeps this collection of essays jogging briskly along; I was never bored, even as she talked about Gettysburg and voting booths and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. She's more than just funny. She's smart. Sharp. She's the best kind of nerd -- one who can see a broader view of her interests, and not just the minutiae that make nerds nerds. She knows her stuff, and knows it so well that she can wrap an unexpected metaphor around it and you still "get" it. (Elvis, anyone?) The forms of the essays are varied -- in addition to many traditional essays, there are at least two in letter-format, and one Larry King-like list -- which helps to pull the reader through the book. Her studied tangents and "soft" endings that never preach make this a very palatable book for "sunshine patriots" like myself. You'll laugh, you'll think, you'll go back for more. Give this book a try, even if essays aren't your thing. Even if government isn't your thing. You'll learn a thing or two and you'll enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Embrace your inner (and outer) nerd!
Review: Sarah Vowell is a nerd with passion, an intellectual who has every right to be cynical but can't help being a romantic. "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is a nifty collection of opinionated essays that cover a startling range of subjects - politics, cinema, music, Salem, her own family. It helps to imagine Sarah Vowell reading these essays to you - in fact, I'd recommend the audio book, because she brings the perfect dry timing to her prose. But even in print, this is fun stuff. I'm a big fan of her Al Gore essays (in which she likens the 2000 election to a classic "Nerds vs. Jocks" battle) and her travelogues. In fact, I like it all, even if her odd attempt at Larry Kingisms falls a little flat. Best of all, Sarah manages to keep an open mind on all subjects. She doesn't apologize for her liberal views, but like a true liberal, she's able to see all sides of an issue and isn't above finding flaws in her own logic. She's also comfortable with herself and her own intelligence, which makes her essays all the more compelling. It's impossible to dislike Sarah, and "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is a great installment from a talented and intriguing woman.
Rating:
Summary: Embrace your inner (and outer) nerd!
Review: Sarah Vowell is a nerd with passion, an intellectual who has every right to be cynical but can't help being a romantic. "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is a nifty collection of opinionated essays that cover a startling range of subjects - politics, cinema, music, Salem, her own family. It helps to imagine Sarah Vowell reading these essays to you - in fact, I'd recommend the audio book, because she brings the perfect dry timing to her prose. But even in print, this is fun stuff. I'm a big fan of her Al Gore essays (in which she likens the 2000 election to a classic "Nerds vs. Jocks" battle) and her travelogues. In fact, I like it all, even if her odd attempt at Larry Kingisms falls a little flat. Best of all, Sarah manages to keep an open mind on all subjects. She doesn't apologize for her liberal views, but like a true liberal, she's able to see all sides of an issue and isn't above finding flaws in her own logic. She's also comfortable with herself and her own intelligence, which makes her essays all the more compelling. It's impossible to dislike Sarah, and "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is a great installment from a talented and intriguing woman.
Rating:
Summary: Uninhibited Paean to America from Gen X
Review: Sarah Vowell is a pleasure to read, even when you don't completely agree with her. Her views are deeply heartfelt and intelligent, and touch the ground of truth behind the poses that many of us find (and often display) in public life. When Vowell cringes at the thought of her Montana family visiting her in NYC, you cringe with her; when she weeps at the Inauguration of George W. Bush, you want to comfort her; when she is appalled by media distortions of the truth, you want to rail with her.
The essays in "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" capture the complexity of loving America when you know too much history to be completely at home with the country's squeaky-clean mythos. Vowell interviews students who were there when Al Gore never claimed to have discovered Love Canal; actually, he was preaching convincingly about the power of a single student to raise issues of national importance. Vowell talks about the tacky elegance of a cafeteria deep in Carlsbad Caverns and the silliness of tour guides who attempt, post hoc, to elevate the status of slaves by calling them "Africans in bondage." Her tender, piercing worldview salves as much as skewers, letting her express ideas that cut across the grain of commonly-accepted attitudes.
The book's title refers to a Thomas Paine essay from the American revolution that complains about the "sunshine patriots" who disappear when the days grow short and the fight turns against them. She portrays herself in halfway measures as only slightly better than these -- as a "partly cloudy" patriot. But I am not fooled. Anyone who can speaks so lovingly and without irony about Teddy Roosevelt's North Dakota cabin and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is far more a patriot than that. Sarah Vowell would hate to hear it, but when it comes loving what is most fundamental about America, she is true blue.
Rating:
Summary: Partly Cloudy? Her views are clear as day.
Review: Sarah Vowell is a self-proclaimed nerd with a voice. Whether writing on her adolescent love of the New German film, or her unabashed doubt in President Bush, she writes with style and with a voice that is as consistent as it is endearing. In this collection of essays, all of which have a decidedly unacademic, salon.com feel to them, she eschews republican politics and extolls some of our most important historical figures (Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, to name two). Vowell also gives one of the most interesting--and sympathetic--portrayals of Al Gore during the 2000 election campaign. Essentially, this book is interesting to those who are familiar with her work for National Public Radio. But anyone who is interested in top-notch intellectual humor will appreciate Vowell's dry wit and insights on the mundanities of pop culture. Her look on Tom Cruise, for example, puts her among the ranks of our most important informal cultural critics. In the end, she's not for academics, and this collection is not as serious as Vowell sometimes takes herself. But hey, her writing is a lot of fun. Take some time to read about connections between history and life that you probably haven't thought of.
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