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Books like The wordy shipmates
A witty, irreverent road trip through seventeenth-century New England that connects the eccentricities of the Puritans to modern American political dysfunction. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The wordy shipmates.
- intellectually playful
- quirky
- reflective
- 01
Assassination vacation
Sarah Vowell
A delightfully morbid and deeply nerdy road trip through the weirdest, darkest corners of American history.
- 02
The partly cloudy patriot
Sarah Vowell
An anecdotal and reflective journey through the historical landscapes and cultural quirks of the United States.
- 03
Mayflower
Nathaniel Philbrick
A spellbinding, electrifying re-examination of a foundational myth that balances heroism with profound historical tragedy.
- 04
A voyage long and strange
Tony Horwitz · 2008
A witty, boots-on-the-ground road trip through the forgotten, messy, and often absurd century of American history before the Pilgrims arrived.
- 05
The island at the center of the world
Russell Shorto · 2004
A vibrant, time-traveling stroll through the muddy, bustling streets of a forgotten Dutch colony that secretly shaped the American spirit.
- 06
Albion's Seed
David Hackett Fischer · 1989
A sweeping, meticulously detailed genealogical dig into the cultural DNA of America that fundamentally changes how you see the country.
- 07
John Adams
David McCullough
An immersive, deeply human portrait of a prickly but passionate founding father and the extraordinary marriage that anchored him.
- 08
The Founding Myth
Andrew L Seidel
A rigorous, analytical dismantling of historical misconceptions surrounding religion and the American founding.
- 09
What Were the Salem Witch Trials
Joan Holub
A brisk, accessible journey into one of history's most fascinating and chilling moments of mass panic.
- 10
Vacationland
John Hodgman
A hilarious, painfully self-aware stroll through the haunted forest of middle age and the unforgiving beaches of New England.
- 11
Jesus and John Wayne
Kristin Kobes Du Mez
A sharp, paradigm-shifting historical autopsy of how militant masculinity and political power reshaped a modern religious movement.
- 12
These Truths
Jill Lepore
A sweeping, lyrical reckoning with the American experiment that measures the nation's brutal realities against its founding ideals.
