I didn't come from any kind of academic background, but I lived in a college town and I knew people who weren't without pretense. There was this idea in the town that if something was European it would be good.

Quote by Sarah Vowell

Topics: Sarah Vowell Quotes

Assassins and presidents invite the same basic question: Just who do you think you are?

Assassins and presidents invite the same basic question: Just who do you think you are?

I was a big Nancy Drew reader. Nancy figures it out. Case closed.

I was a big Nancy Drew reader. Nancy figures it out. Case closed.

I loved that these two guys argued with each other as if movies actually mattered....

I loved that these two guys argued with each other as if movies actually mattered....

Not that I want the current president killed. I will, for the record and for...

Not that I want the current president killed. I will, for the record and for...

I seem to have no problem revealing my crush on the man who murdered Lincoln.

I seem to have no problem revealing my crush on the man who murdered Lincoln.

The whole point of Louis Armstrong is that no one can really figure him out....

The whole point of Louis Armstrong is that no one can really figure him out....

Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, Robert Lincoln bought a nice ski lodge.

Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, Robert Lincoln bought a nice ski lodge.

I discovered that Robert Todd Lincoln was there for each of the first three assassinations....

I discovered that Robert Todd Lincoln was there for each of the first three assassinations....

Part of the success of This American Life, I think, is due to the fact...

Part of the success of This American Life, I think, is due to the fact...

In death, you get upgraded into a saint no matter how much people hated you...

In death, you get upgraded into a saint no matter how much people hated you...

While I gave up God a long time ago, I never shook the habit of...

While I gave up God a long time ago, I never shook the habit of...

One night last summer, all the killers in my head assembled on a stage in...

One night last summer, all the killers in my head assembled on a stage in...

I'm a big fan of editing and keeping only the interesting bits in.

I'm a big fan of editing and keeping only the interesting bits in.

The one time I was an actor, it happened to be in a globally dominant...

The one time I was an actor, it happened to be in a globally dominant...

My audience is going to die before I do.

My audience is going to die before I do.

Jesus and Lincoln, Moses and Jefferson can seem so long gone, so unbelievable, so dead.

Jesus and Lincoln, Moses and Jefferson can seem so long gone, so unbelievable, so dead.

I hated the lost colony; in second grade, we were doing American History, and they...

I hated the lost colony; in second grade, we were doing American History, and they...

History is full of really good stories. That's the main reason I got into this...

History is full of really good stories. That's the main reason I got into this...

Most people don't like to talk about violent historical death.

Most people don't like to talk about violent historical death.

Like Lincoln, I would like to believe the ballot is stronger than the bullet. Then...

Like Lincoln, I would like to believe the ballot is stronger than the bullet. Then...