Book Club Forming in Advance of Visit from Bestselling Author Sarah Vowell
by Joe Savrock (February 2012)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In anticipation of an upcoming visit from bestselling author Sarah Vowell, the College of Education is organizing a book club for persons interested in reading her work.
Vowell, The New York Times’ bestselling author of five nonfiction books on American history and culture, will be visiting Penn State on April 9 to discuss her most recent book, Unfamiliar Fishes (2011).
By examining the connections between the American past and present, Vowell offers personal and often humorous accounts of everything from presidents and their assassins to colonial religious fanatics, as well as thoughts on American Indians, utopian dreamers, pop music, and the odd cranky cartographer.
Vowell’s most recent book is the intriguing history of Hawaii, which was annexed in 1898. Replete with a cast of beguiling and often tragic characters, including an overthrown Hawaiian queen, whalers, missionaries, sugar barons, Teddy Roosevelt, and assorted con men, Unfamiliar Fishes is another history lesson in Americana as only Vowell can tell it—with brainy wit and droll humor.
To join the book club, please contact Heather Decker by March 12: e-mail had3@psu.edu or phone 814-863-1489.
The event is sponsored by the College of Education, with support from the College of Liberal Arts and Schreyers Honors College.
