History is one war after another with a bunch of murders and natural disasters in between. — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“History repeats itself. The first time as tragedy. The second time as farce. The third time as tourist trap.” — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
History is full of really good stories. That's the main reason I got into this racket: I want to make the argument… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
American history is a quagmire, and the more one knows, the quaggier the mire gets. — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
Except for the people who were there that one day they discovered the polio vaccine, being part of history is rarely a… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“Acts 16:9 is the meddler's motto, simultaneously selfless and self-serving, generous but stuck-up. Into every generation of Americans is born a new… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“But I can no longer ready any faith's Napoleonic saber rattling without picturing smoking rubble on cable news. I guess if I… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“For Americans, Acts 16:9 is the high-fructose corn syrup of Bible verses--an all-purpose ingredient we'll stir into everything from the ink on… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“By journey's end the brides were much better acquainted with their grooms and more or less pleased with the matches. Sybil Bingham… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“The groundswell of outrage over the invasion of Iraq often cited the preemptive war as a betrayal of American ideals. The subtext… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
Until that moment, I hadn't realized that I embarked on the project of touring historic sites and monuments having to do with… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“The historical periods I like to learn about aren’t so much costume dramas as slasher flicks. The French Revolution is a favorite… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“In other words, ideas, when implemented, turn into precedents with unpredictable and potentially disturbing consequences. As the British historian and politician Lord… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“The more history I learn, the more the world fills up with stories. Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“I adore these words, worship them actually, and yet I do not buy that part about ‘the last time in history.’ Because… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“In the first summer of the Iraqi war, on the crabby, sweaty second day of a blackout that shut down the northeast’s… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share Image
“She is either male property (Mrs.), wannabe male property (Miss), or man-hating harpy (Ms.).” — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
“We were breathing sooty air. The soot was composed of incinerated glass and steel but also, we knew, incinerated human flesh. When the local… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
“After Hymns and tears, they boarded the brig Thaddeus, a vessel so crappy, it made the Mayflower look like the QE2.” — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
“The last line of Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen is addressed to the American people and their congressmen. "As they deal with me and… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
“In the gravedigger scene in act V, Hamlet looks upon an anonymous skull and jokes that even Alexander the Great decomposed into dust that… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
“Another reason I’m intrigued with the hanged of Salem, especially the women, is that a number of them aroused suspicion in the first place… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
Listening to the radio every day for an entire year was a prison sentence. It was the most depressing, annoying, debilitating project I have… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
That's what I like to call him, "the current president." I find it difficult to say or type his name, George W. Bush. I… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
“The historical periods I like to learn about aren’t so much costume dramas as slasher flicks. The French Revolution is a favorite because it… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
While I gave up God a long time ago, I never shook the habit of wanting to believe in something. So I replaced my… — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
There are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who alphabetize their record collections, and the kind who don't. — Sarah Vowell Copy Share
