<DIV><B>In this <I>New York Times</I> bestseller, the author of <I>Assassination Vacation</I> "brings the [Puritan] era wickedly to life" (<I>Washington Post</I>).</B><BR><BR> To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Sarah Vowell investigates what that means-and what it should mean. What she discovers is something far different from what their uptight shoebuckles- and-corn reputation might suggest-a highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty people, whose story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance.<BR><BR> Vowell takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, where "righteousness" is rhymed with "wilderness," to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Throughout, <I>The Wordy Shipmates</I> is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices.<BR><BR></DIV>