Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell, 288 pages

What do you think would happen today if a 19-year-old aristocratic runaway fled his home country to help revolutionaries overthrow their government half a world away? Probably nothing good. But that's exactly what the Marquis de Lafayette did in the American Revolutionary War, abandoning his teenage bride and heading to America to pledge his allegiance to George Washington (after whom he eventually named his son) and fight for the colonists' freedom from England. In this book, Vowell presents a view of Lafayette's (and France's) role in the Revolutionary War. It's refreshing, it's fun, it's funny (in Vowell's dry wit). It's pure Vowell, in that it makes history fun and points out how what happened more than 200 years ago is still relevant today. Well worth a read.

Also: I listened to the audiobook, which is read primarily by Vowell, with an A-list hipster cast of actors providing the voices for the historical figures. John Hodgman, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, John Slattery, Alexis Denisof... they were all fantastic. Give it a listen.