Death, Politics, and Roadtrips

Fascinated by presidential killings and their public commemoration, author and NPR contributor Sarah Vowell helms a whirlwind tour of American history in Assassination Vacation.  She visits sites and artifacts related to Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley -- all the while weaving in her trademark humor and social commentary.  If you like this title, check out some of Vowell's other books -- The Partly Cloudy Patriot, The Wordy Shipmates, and Unfamiliar Fishes.  HM

Last Ride

FDR's Funeral Train by Robert Klara

This historical narrative is really two stories: one of FDR's death and the transporting of his body to Washington DC and then to Hyde Park for burial and second, a history of the train and especially Pullman cars and the Presidential car, Ferdinand Magellan. It is definitely worth reading.