Nestled between Montreal, Boston, and New York City exists a magic land
called "Vermont." It's a state of the union, a state of mind, a state of
grace, and a state of confusion and contradiction. Because of its
beauty, its scale, and its depth of culture, Vermont is truly a perfect
state.
The image of Vermont that leaps off the pages of
Vermont Life
is one of rolling hills, small villages, white churches with soaring
steeples, town meetings, and blazing foliage. But there is another side
of "A Perfect State," a complex composite of dirt roads turned to Mud
Season quagmires, sharply divided citizens who cannot find common ground
on critical issues such as school financing, gay marriage,
environmental protection, and development.
Joe Sherman portrays the last fifty years of Vermont history, a time when
the state
evolved from a bucolic bedrock of conservatism to a rural theme park on
America's cutting edge. Whether the subject is sprawl, gourmet ice
cream (Vermont is home to Ben & Jerry's), or rock and roll (Vermont
is also home to
the rock band Phish), Vermont finds itself at the center of the stage.
Fast Lane on a Dirt Road is a raucous book about a rocky state from a
perspective so fresh that controversy is unavoidable. Traditionalists will take issue with Sherman's portrayal of
the state as a cauldron of social change, while newcomers might object to the homage paid to Vermont's past.
Vermont
was the last state to allow in a Wal-Mart, and the first to authorize
domestic partnerships. It is the only state with a Socialist
representative in Congress, a state where a Republican nominee for the
U.S. Senate (dairy farmer Fred Tuttle) actually voted for his
better-qualified opponent.
Sherman is a journalist and a
social historian more than an academic. He has not had the luxury of
time to filter and clarify his observations. As he states in his own
acknowledgments, "Writing contemporary history is risky business."
Fast Lane on a Dirt Road
is a great read for anyone interested in the rapid evolution of
American culture. The quirky history of Vermont shows us both where
we've been and where we're going. The rest of America can learn a lot
from Vermont.