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Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance
"I hope no one secedes, but I also hope that Americans figure out creative ways to resist injustice and create communities where everybody counts. We've got a long history of resistance in Vermont and this book is testimony to that fact."
-Bernie Sanders
A book that's also the beginning of a movement, Bill McKibben's debut novel Radio Free Vermont follows a band of Vermont patriots who decide that their state might be better off as its own republic.
As the host of Radio Free Vermont--"underground, underpowered, and underfoot"--seventy-two-year-old Vern Barclay is currently broadcasting from an "undisclosed and double-secret location." With the help of a young computer prodigy named Perry Alterson, Vern uses his radio show to advocate for a simple yet radical idea: an independent Vermont, one where the state secedes from the United States and operates under a free local economy. But for now, he and his radio show must remain untraceable, because in addition to being a lifelong Vermonter and concerned citizen, Vern Barclay is also a fugitive from the law.
In Radio Free Vermont, Bill McKibben entertains and expands upon an idea that's become more popular than ever--seceding from the United States. Along with Vern and Perry, McKibben imagines an eccentric group of activists who carry out their own version of guerilla warfare, which includes dismissing local middle school children early in honor of 'Ethan Allen Day' and hijacking a Coors Light truck and replacing the stock with local brew. Witty, biting, and terrifyingly timely, Radio Free Vermont is Bill McKibben's fictional response to the burgeoning resistance movement.
-Bernie Sanders
A book that's also the beginning of a movement, Bill McKibben's debut novel Radio Free Vermont follows a band of Vermont patriots who decide that their state might be better off as its own republic.
As the host of Radio Free Vermont--"underground, underpowered, and underfoot"--seventy-two-year-old Vern Barclay is currently broadcasting from an "undisclosed and double-secret location." With the help of a young computer prodigy named Perry Alterson, Vern uses his radio show to advocate for a simple yet radical idea: an independent Vermont, one where the state secedes from the United States and operates under a free local economy. But for now, he and his radio show must remain untraceable, because in addition to being a lifelong Vermonter and concerned citizen, Vern Barclay is also a fugitive from the law.
In Radio Free Vermont, Bill McKibben entertains and expands upon an idea that's become more popular than ever--seceding from the United States. Along with Vern and Perry, McKibben imagines an eccentric group of activists who carry out their own version of guerilla warfare, which includes dismissing local middle school children early in honor of 'Ethan Allen Day' and hijacking a Coors Light truck and replacing the stock with local brew. Witty, biting, and terrifyingly timely, Radio Free Vermont is Bill McKibben's fictional response to the burgeoning resistance movement.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2017
160 people are currently reading
2706 people want to read
About the author
Bill McKibben
202 books818 followersBill McKibben is the author of Eaarth, The End of Nature, Deep Economy, Enough, Fight Global Warming Now, The Bill McKibben Reader, and numerous other books. He is the founder of the environmental organizations Step It Up and 350.org, and was among the first to warn of the dangers of global warming. In 2010 The Boston Globe called him "probably the nation's leading environmentalist," and Time magazine has called him "the world's best green journalist." He studied at Harvard, and started his writing career as a staff writer at The New Yorker. The End of Nature, his first book, was published in 1989 and was regarded as the first book on climate change for a general audience. He is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside. He has been awarded Guggenheim Fellowship and won the Lannan Prize for nonfiction writing in 2000. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and lives in Vermont with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, and their daughter.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billmc...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billmc...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 609 reviews
September 17, 2017
I stopped reading longer, more serious books, also supplied (like this one) by those generous people of Netgalley, to complete this book in two sittings. It read really quickly and easily. It was entertaining. It's hard to write in a clear and entertaining manner. It takes real talent. Also, the author took a clear and unmistakable stand about what he thinks is right and wrong, which is very welcome in this world of weasel words and intellectual bet-hedging. I salute the author, who did a better job than I could have.
Still, I'm going to complain about this book.
This book advertises itself falsely as a fable. It is a fantasy.
Definitions online of the word “fable” (example here) often say that fables include supernatural elements, especially talking animals, and also an edifying moral. An alternate usage is as a synonym for “falsehood”.
The definition of “fantasy” from the most reliable free online source includes the following: “the power or process of creating especially unrealistic or improbable mental images in response to psychological need”.
This book has no ghosts, or talking dogs, or easy-to-remember lesson for the edification and stupefaction of children. In other words, not a fable.
It is a fantasy for American liberals. Although not a Vermonter, I am one of the liberal tribe, so I enjoyed it. This book attempts to meet a psychological need for a narrative of victory for our tribe. However, in addition to being a member of the tribe, I am also a miserable and contrary old cuss, so I'm going to say books like these do not meet any of my psychological needs. Furthermore, they are not part of the solution to our current woes, they are part of the problem.
An explanation what I mean, concentrating on a non-spoilerish incident at the beginning of this novel: Some madcap but determined balaclava-wearing Vermont liberals misdirect a Coors beer truck to an area without cell phone reception. They then stop the truck, force the driver to dismount, give him some superior locally-produced beer, and make him wait for hours while they hand-empty every bottle of villainous mass-produced beer (beer is an important part of this novel, so is recycling) before packing him back off to, presumably, whatever reprehensible out-of-state metropolis it is his misfortune to live in.
This is all written as a lightweight comic caper. Guns or weapons of any type are not mentioned. Still, I found it kind of creepy and threatening. What if the driver had had a gun? It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.
What I'm trying to say is, if someone who didn't agree with the author's values read this, he or she might feel that a real threat of bodily harm, and the presentation of the cute comic caper was an attempt to whitewash what is, deep down, a real threat of violence.
Consider: what if the shoe were on the other foot?
Imagine, if you will, a book in which a long-haul driver of a truck full of kombucha (with perhaps a few cases of beard wax and artisanal mayonnaise as well) is lured off the Interstate in an especially lonely stretch of west Texas, where some friendly madcap masked citizens give him a couple of cases of Coca-Cola to enjoy while they dump his load of liberal-associated products. If you read this in a book, wouldn't the friendliness have an air of menace to it? In the movie of your mind, can you see some barely-concealed, but unmentioned, weapons? The author doesn't have to mention them. Instead, he just winks at the like-minded reader, and disingenuously denies any menace to the un-like-minded. But the message would be clear: be like us, O liberal, or regret it.
So it is with this book, only our side is doing the threatening.
I put it to you that this book is not only a fantasy, it is a revenge fantasy. Revenge fantasies are fun to spin out over the alcoholic beverage of your choice with similarly-inclined friends, but when they make it between (electronic) book covers, they are part of the problem. I know that people that you disagree with, O liberals, annoy you, especially if they end up with a dangerous amount of power and influence in our irredeemably flawed world, as they have now. The answer is not to replace the present world with a world that would annoy you less and others more, because eventually the wheel would turn again and you'd be back where you started, i.e., annoyed. The answer is to stop being annoyed at others, and hope (almost certainly in vain) that others will be inspired by your good example. Difficult? Yes. Do it anyway. Be an inspiration to the world. I know you can do it.
I received an free unfinished galley of the ebook for review. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for their generosity.
Still, I'm going to complain about this book.
This book advertises itself falsely as a fable. It is a fantasy.
Definitions online of the word “fable” (example here) often say that fables include supernatural elements, especially talking animals, and also an edifying moral. An alternate usage is as a synonym for “falsehood”.
The definition of “fantasy” from the most reliable free online source includes the following: “the power or process of creating especially unrealistic or improbable mental images in response to psychological need”.
This book has no ghosts, or talking dogs, or easy-to-remember lesson for the edification and stupefaction of children. In other words, not a fable.
It is a fantasy for American liberals. Although not a Vermonter, I am one of the liberal tribe, so I enjoyed it. This book attempts to meet a psychological need for a narrative of victory for our tribe. However, in addition to being a member of the tribe, I am also a miserable and contrary old cuss, so I'm going to say books like these do not meet any of my psychological needs. Furthermore, they are not part of the solution to our current woes, they are part of the problem.
An explanation what I mean, concentrating on a non-spoilerish incident at the beginning of this novel: Some madcap but determined balaclava-wearing Vermont liberals misdirect a Coors beer truck to an area without cell phone reception. They then stop the truck, force the driver to dismount, give him some superior locally-produced beer, and make him wait for hours while they hand-empty every bottle of villainous mass-produced beer (beer is an important part of this novel, so is recycling) before packing him back off to, presumably, whatever reprehensible out-of-state metropolis it is his misfortune to live in.
This is all written as a lightweight comic caper. Guns or weapons of any type are not mentioned. Still, I found it kind of creepy and threatening. What if the driver had had a gun? It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.
What I'm trying to say is, if someone who didn't agree with the author's values read this, he or she might feel that a real threat of bodily harm, and the presentation of the cute comic caper was an attempt to whitewash what is, deep down, a real threat of violence.
Consider: what if the shoe were on the other foot?
Imagine, if you will, a book in which a long-haul driver of a truck full of kombucha (with perhaps a few cases of beard wax and artisanal mayonnaise as well) is lured off the Interstate in an especially lonely stretch of west Texas, where some friendly madcap masked citizens give him a couple of cases of Coca-Cola to enjoy while they dump his load of liberal-associated products. If you read this in a book, wouldn't the friendliness have an air of menace to it? In the movie of your mind, can you see some barely-concealed, but unmentioned, weapons? The author doesn't have to mention them. Instead, he just winks at the like-minded reader, and disingenuously denies any menace to the un-like-minded. But the message would be clear: be like us, O liberal, or regret it.
So it is with this book, only our side is doing the threatening.
I put it to you that this book is not only a fantasy, it is a revenge fantasy. Revenge fantasies are fun to spin out over the alcoholic beverage of your choice with similarly-inclined friends, but when they make it between (electronic) book covers, they are part of the problem. I know that people that you disagree with, O liberals, annoy you, especially if they end up with a dangerous amount of power and influence in our irredeemably flawed world, as they have now. The answer is not to replace the present world with a world that would annoy you less and others more, because eventually the wheel would turn again and you'd be back where you started, i.e., annoyed. The answer is to stop being annoyed at others, and hope (almost certainly in vain) that others will be inspired by your good example. Difficult? Yes. Do it anyway. Be an inspiration to the world. I know you can do it.
I received an free unfinished galley of the ebook for review. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for their generosity.
June 25, 2017
Radio Free Vermont stands as proof that resistance can be accomplished in a positive and clever manner which I found encouraging in our current depressing and frustrating time. Radio talk show host Vern Barclay creates a new underground radio show – Radio Free Vermont, “underground, underpowered, and underfoot.” While supporting the idea that Vermont citizens might be better off seceding, Barclay’s true mission is advocating for a better future. Through Radio Free Vermont, he cleverly and at times hilariously argues for solutions to climate change, education, and the importance of small town communities and buying local. He and his band of revolutionaries take over the broadcast system at a local Starbucks, switch out Coors for local beer on a delivery truck, and enlist their followers to pick the best theme song for their resistance.
I loved the shout out to Paul Harvey, the king of radio talk show hosts, and the references to soul music from the 1960’s and 1970’s. As a music lover, I enjoyed learning more about the non-Motown music from that era and revisiting songs that I haven’t listened to in a while. McKibben packs so much into this short but fabulous gem of a novel.
Radio Free Vermont is a joy to read from beginning to end and provides a positive example of effective resistance that is devoid of name-calling and dishonesty. Instead, McKibben encourages those wanting to work toward a better future instead of protecting large corporations and the very rich, perpetuating cycles of poverty, and ruining the climate for future generations. Thanks to Blue Rider Press and NetGalley for this very worthwhile and timely ARC.
I loved the shout out to Paul Harvey, the king of radio talk show hosts, and the references to soul music from the 1960’s and 1970’s. As a music lover, I enjoyed learning more about the non-Motown music from that era and revisiting songs that I haven’t listened to in a while. McKibben packs so much into this short but fabulous gem of a novel.
Radio Free Vermont is a joy to read from beginning to end and provides a positive example of effective resistance that is devoid of name-calling and dishonesty. Instead, McKibben encourages those wanting to work toward a better future instead of protecting large corporations and the very rich, perpetuating cycles of poverty, and ruining the climate for future generations. Thanks to Blue Rider Press and NetGalley for this very worthwhile and timely ARC.
November 8, 2017
Let’s get small.
That’s the theme of Bill McKibben’s first novel, “Radio Free Vermont,” a little comic story with a big political message.
This is surprisingly new territory for McKibben, the environmental journalist who raised the alarm about global warming with “The End of Nature” way back in 1989. But three decades later, we’ve got 15 percent more CO2 in the atmosphere and a fossil-fuel toady dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency, so maybe comedy is our only refuge.
Not that McKibben has given up the fight. Not at all. The hero of this “fable of resistance” is a 72-year-old radio announcer named Vern Barclay, who’s inflamed with revolutionary fervor. (A 76-year-old Vermonter you know has already endorsed this book: Bernie Sanders.) When a conglomerate in Oklahoma buys out the local station and lays off most of its staff, Vern realizes just how much his beloved state has been diluted by corporate interests and federal. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
That’s the theme of Bill McKibben’s first novel, “Radio Free Vermont,” a little comic story with a big political message.
This is surprisingly new territory for McKibben, the environmental journalist who raised the alarm about global warming with “The End of Nature” way back in 1989. But three decades later, we’ve got 15 percent more CO2 in the atmosphere and a fossil-fuel toady dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency, so maybe comedy is our only refuge.
Not that McKibben has given up the fight. Not at all. The hero of this “fable of resistance” is a 72-year-old radio announcer named Vern Barclay, who’s inflamed with revolutionary fervor. (A 76-year-old Vermonter you know has already endorsed this book: Bernie Sanders.) When a conglomerate in Oklahoma buys out the local station and lays off most of its staff, Vern realizes just how much his beloved state has been diluted by corporate interests and federal. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
December 29, 2020
After staging a very unorthodox protest at the opening of Vermont’s first Walmart, radio talk show host Vern Barclay starts his own underground talk show, Radio Free Vermont: “underground, underpowered, and underfoot.” Embedded in his story, author Bill McKibben heralds a number of Vermont’s great progressive accomplishments and heroes, such as rejecting slavery, recognizing same sex marriages, statewide town halls, and the iconic leader, Ethan Allen. Barclay promotes Vermont products and a dialogue as to whether Vermont citizens would be better off seceding, while he is being labelled a terrorist by the Governor, police, and FBI. Some excellent characters, especially Sylvia, who teaches outdoor and good neighbor skills to transplants from other states, and Trace, a female Olympic Gold medalist in biathlon, who Vern mentored. Highly recommended for those who love Vermont or who enjoy Carl Hiaasen. 3.5 stars.
September 21, 2017
I received this book as an ARC from Penguin Random House. Thank you.
Parts of this book were hilarious and parts focused on hard facts. McKibben created a cast of characters that didn't intentionally seek out secession from The United States, it just happened.
The hard facts in this story were about how the State of Vermont has changed over the years.
Saying anymore will spoil the enjoyment of the story. But kind of think of "Time Bandits" when you read it.
Parts of this book were hilarious and parts focused on hard facts. McKibben created a cast of characters that didn't intentionally seek out secession from The United States, it just happened.
The hard facts in this story were about how the State of Vermont has changed over the years.
Saying anymore will spoil the enjoyment of the story. But kind of think of "Time Bandits" when you read it.
March 20, 2018
I really wanted to like this book-it’s about encouraging civil resistance and commitment to our values in the age of Trump! But man was this book frustrating. The dialogue was stiff and the plot was annoying and too cute. I appreciate what the author was trying to do but this was not for me
March 3, 2018
4.0 “smiles from ear to ear” STARS
I absolutely loved this little gem of a story set in the glorious state of Vermont, located just forty-five minutes north of my home in western Massachusetts. I visit Vermont as often as I can … I could relate to everything in this story, from Church Street in downtown Burlington to the Vermont Coffee Company to the legendary Heady Topper!
Author Bill McKibben perfectly captures the angst of the nation in this whimsical and hysterically satirical tale of rebellion and secession from the tyranny of impersonal “bigness” of the encroaching world – big box stores, mega-agribusiness, big breweries, sprawling media conglomerates – all destroying the small local farms, businesses and families of Vermont.
Vern Barclay began talking into the radio microphone when he was sixteen and never stopped! But times have changed. Vermont was changing. Media conglomerates from faraway places like Oklahoma and Texas consolidated the small, rural local stations. Now in his early seventies, Vern should have retired but he loved to talk to his neighbors over the airwaves.
It all started in St. Albans. Vern was scheduled to broadcast from the new Walmart. The fight against Walmart lasted for ten years … the fight over the cornfield that got paved over, the runoff that flowed from the parking lot, the traffic and the death of downtown St. Albans. Vern called in a few of his opposition friends and when the late August thunderstorm quickly dropped several inches of rain on the acres of parking, they altered the sewer system from intake to outflow and the brand new Walmart was filled with the output from over five thousand commodes of St. Albans!
The resistance was born … terrorism by sewerage!
Vern, along with compatriots Perry Alterson from Burlington, Sylvia Granger from Starksboro and Trance Harper, the former VT Olympian biathlete, are branded terrorists by the Governor Bruce who vows to capture the notorious separatists.
Vern continues his broadcasts on Radio Free Vermont, his pirate station … underground, underpowered and underfoot … encouraging the good people of Vermont to consider a new, smaller nation, where neighbors could talk and debate without shouting or demonizing each other. With town meeting set for the first Tuesday in March, the good folks of Vermont will make their voice heard!
I am still smiling as I put the finishing touches on this review. Quotes like this, of which there were many similar nuggets of wisdom, make me so happy!
“Hello, friends, and welcome to broadcast number six from Radio Free Vermont, underground, underpowered, and underfoot. We’re brought to you by Lawson’s Brewery in Mad River Valley, where there’s always a ‘Sip of Sunshine’ to be had. When I say ‘brought to you by’, I’m not implying that they’re paying us money or giving us free samples. I’m just saying that they, and the at least fifty-seven other Vermont breweries, are symbols of everything that’s right and good about a free local economy – where neighbors make things for neighbors- and so they actually bother to give them some taste, body, and character. Remember, drink responsibly: if your ale doesn’t hale from this country, then just say no.”
It is tongue in cheek, laugh out loud funny but so very real! I can’t wait to crack open by very own Sip of Sunshine. Read this book!
I absolutely loved this little gem of a story set in the glorious state of Vermont, located just forty-five minutes north of my home in western Massachusetts. I visit Vermont as often as I can … I could relate to everything in this story, from Church Street in downtown Burlington to the Vermont Coffee Company to the legendary Heady Topper!
Author Bill McKibben perfectly captures the angst of the nation in this whimsical and hysterically satirical tale of rebellion and secession from the tyranny of impersonal “bigness” of the encroaching world – big box stores, mega-agribusiness, big breweries, sprawling media conglomerates – all destroying the small local farms, businesses and families of Vermont.
Vern Barclay began talking into the radio microphone when he was sixteen and never stopped! But times have changed. Vermont was changing. Media conglomerates from faraway places like Oklahoma and Texas consolidated the small, rural local stations. Now in his early seventies, Vern should have retired but he loved to talk to his neighbors over the airwaves.
It all started in St. Albans. Vern was scheduled to broadcast from the new Walmart. The fight against Walmart lasted for ten years … the fight over the cornfield that got paved over, the runoff that flowed from the parking lot, the traffic and the death of downtown St. Albans. Vern called in a few of his opposition friends and when the late August thunderstorm quickly dropped several inches of rain on the acres of parking, they altered the sewer system from intake to outflow and the brand new Walmart was filled with the output from over five thousand commodes of St. Albans!
The resistance was born … terrorism by sewerage!
Vern, along with compatriots Perry Alterson from Burlington, Sylvia Granger from Starksboro and Trance Harper, the former VT Olympian biathlete, are branded terrorists by the Governor Bruce who vows to capture the notorious separatists.
Vern continues his broadcasts on Radio Free Vermont, his pirate station … underground, underpowered and underfoot … encouraging the good people of Vermont to consider a new, smaller nation, where neighbors could talk and debate without shouting or demonizing each other. With town meeting set for the first Tuesday in March, the good folks of Vermont will make their voice heard!
I am still smiling as I put the finishing touches on this review. Quotes like this, of which there were many similar nuggets of wisdom, make me so happy!
“Hello, friends, and welcome to broadcast number six from Radio Free Vermont, underground, underpowered, and underfoot. We’re brought to you by Lawson’s Brewery in Mad River Valley, where there’s always a ‘Sip of Sunshine’ to be had. When I say ‘brought to you by’, I’m not implying that they’re paying us money or giving us free samples. I’m just saying that they, and the at least fifty-seven other Vermont breweries, are symbols of everything that’s right and good about a free local economy – where neighbors make things for neighbors- and so they actually bother to give them some taste, body, and character. Remember, drink responsibly: if your ale doesn’t hale from this country, then just say no.”
It is tongue in cheek, laugh out loud funny but so very real! I can’t wait to crack open by very own Sip of Sunshine. Read this book!
August 14, 2017
RADIO FREE VERMONT: A FABLE OF RESISTANCE (November 2017)
Bill McKibben
Blue River Press, 240 pages
★★
If a crusty Vermonter laced a pint of Ben & Jerry’s with a psychotropic, consumed it, and went off to bed, his dream might come out something like Radio Free Vermont. This uneven book is fun and pokes fun at Corporate America run amok, but the key to reading is embracing the word “fable” in its subtitle. I am a big fan of eco activist/journalist Bill McKibbin—one of the most important voices on climate change in North America. McKibbin has authored sixteen non-fiction books and has written for every publication from The Atlantic and The New York Times to National Geographic and Rolling Stone, but Radio Free Vermont is his first novel. Objectivity demands that I say that as much as I enjoyed the novel’s sentiments and politics, McKibben is, by disposition, a non-fiction writer.
Radio Free Vermont is the sort of book that those of us feeling alienated and hopeless in the Age of Trump want to love. Its central character is Vern Barclay, a radio talk show host weaned on Paul Harvey. He’s not a Vermont native, but at age 72 his Green Mountain pedigree is longer than most. After all, there were fewer than 390,000 Vermont residents in 1960 and now the state is approaching two-thirds of a million. Through a series of unplanned (but not necessarily unwanted) circumstances, Barclay becomes a pirate podcast broadcaster, the leader of a secession movement, and a fugitive from justice. He is aided by OCD technical wiz Perry Alterson; Sylvia, a lesbian firefighter from Starksboro; Trace Harper, a lesbian and former Olympian gold medal biathlete; his acerbic 98-year-old mother; and a host of snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, and backwoods folks who share his view that Big Money is ruining the state’s environment, character, and sense of community. On Ethan Allen Day* (January 21), Barclay launches a podcast campaign to have secession** placed on the March agenda of Town Meetings across the state—a half-jocular effort initially born out of frustration more than seriousness. As is transpires, it takes on a life of its own.
The villains include Leslie R. Bruce, Vermont’s Trump-echo governor; the FBI; Walmart; and even some fellow Vermonters scared the secession would put an end to their Social Security checks, bank accounts, federal jobs, access to out-of-state goods, and pensions. In the post-9/11 world, Barclay is easy to package as a terrorist, and McKibben’s novel adopts a caper-and-chase structure punctuated with splashes of satire. Few other states have been as successful at creative-bordering-on-deceptive branding; that is, unless you think its hills truly are alive with shade-grown coffee beans, salsa fixings, cracker trees, and gin wells. McKibben gives this a gentle tweak by having Barclay open his broadcasts with plugs for real Vermont products, especially its craft beers. He also satirizes the promote-at-any-cost crowd by having feckless Governor Bruce build a retractable dome arena, which makes a nice foil for Barclay’s on-the-lam broadcasts that air under the tag line: “underground, underpowered, and “underfoot.”
To borrow the slogan from a very bad no-craft beer, Radio Free Vermont often tastes great, but it’s not terribly filling. Its climactic chase scene and Burlington showdown are absurd even for a fable, the dialogue and plot devices fall on the contrived end of the scale, and those who know Vermont will tell you that it’s not nearly as tolerant and PC as McKibben would have it. To pick one example, I suspect that most of its residents couldn’t even name a Nina Simone song, let alone choose her “O-o-h Child” as their national anthem. Naomi Klein (charitably) links Radio Free Vermont to stories from A Prairie Home Companion. I agree that it has the same sweet intentions, but McKibben is no Garrison Keillor when it comes to literary prowess. We don’t need him to be this; he’s a champion at what he does best: investigative journalism and environmental advocacy. Radio Free Vermont will certainly entertain you and it’s a welcome diversion from the 24/7 bad news coming out of Washington. Read it, but don’t expect McKibben’s insights into the Green Mountain State to be as sharp as what he has to say about green energy.
Rob Weir
*McKibben is more romantic about Ethan Allen than I. Allen’s role in the Revolutionary War and the Republic of Vermont is secure, but he was also rash, reckless, a self-promoter and a land speculator.
**McKibben isn’t being entirely fanciful in imagining an independent Vermont. It was independent immediately after the revolutionary War and, in the 1970s, some back-to-the-land hippies were involved in the “Free Vermont” movement. There is also a small contemporary group the advocates a “Second Vermont Republic.”
Bill McKibben
Blue River Press, 240 pages
★★
If a crusty Vermonter laced a pint of Ben & Jerry’s with a psychotropic, consumed it, and went off to bed, his dream might come out something like Radio Free Vermont. This uneven book is fun and pokes fun at Corporate America run amok, but the key to reading is embracing the word “fable” in its subtitle. I am a big fan of eco activist/journalist Bill McKibbin—one of the most important voices on climate change in North America. McKibbin has authored sixteen non-fiction books and has written for every publication from The Atlantic and The New York Times to National Geographic and Rolling Stone, but Radio Free Vermont is his first novel. Objectivity demands that I say that as much as I enjoyed the novel’s sentiments and politics, McKibben is, by disposition, a non-fiction writer.
Radio Free Vermont is the sort of book that those of us feeling alienated and hopeless in the Age of Trump want to love. Its central character is Vern Barclay, a radio talk show host weaned on Paul Harvey. He’s not a Vermont native, but at age 72 his Green Mountain pedigree is longer than most. After all, there were fewer than 390,000 Vermont residents in 1960 and now the state is approaching two-thirds of a million. Through a series of unplanned (but not necessarily unwanted) circumstances, Barclay becomes a pirate podcast broadcaster, the leader of a secession movement, and a fugitive from justice. He is aided by OCD technical wiz Perry Alterson; Sylvia, a lesbian firefighter from Starksboro; Trace Harper, a lesbian and former Olympian gold medal biathlete; his acerbic 98-year-old mother; and a host of snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, and backwoods folks who share his view that Big Money is ruining the state’s environment, character, and sense of community. On Ethan Allen Day* (January 21), Barclay launches a podcast campaign to have secession** placed on the March agenda of Town Meetings across the state—a half-jocular effort initially born out of frustration more than seriousness. As is transpires, it takes on a life of its own.
The villains include Leslie R. Bruce, Vermont’s Trump-echo governor; the FBI; Walmart; and even some fellow Vermonters scared the secession would put an end to their Social Security checks, bank accounts, federal jobs, access to out-of-state goods, and pensions. In the post-9/11 world, Barclay is easy to package as a terrorist, and McKibben’s novel adopts a caper-and-chase structure punctuated with splashes of satire. Few other states have been as successful at creative-bordering-on-deceptive branding; that is, unless you think its hills truly are alive with shade-grown coffee beans, salsa fixings, cracker trees, and gin wells. McKibben gives this a gentle tweak by having Barclay open his broadcasts with plugs for real Vermont products, especially its craft beers. He also satirizes the promote-at-any-cost crowd by having feckless Governor Bruce build a retractable dome arena, which makes a nice foil for Barclay’s on-the-lam broadcasts that air under the tag line: “underground, underpowered, and “underfoot.”
To borrow the slogan from a very bad no-craft beer, Radio Free Vermont often tastes great, but it’s not terribly filling. Its climactic chase scene and Burlington showdown are absurd even for a fable, the dialogue and plot devices fall on the contrived end of the scale, and those who know Vermont will tell you that it’s not nearly as tolerant and PC as McKibben would have it. To pick one example, I suspect that most of its residents couldn’t even name a Nina Simone song, let alone choose her “O-o-h Child” as their national anthem. Naomi Klein (charitably) links Radio Free Vermont to stories from A Prairie Home Companion. I agree that it has the same sweet intentions, but McKibben is no Garrison Keillor when it comes to literary prowess. We don’t need him to be this; he’s a champion at what he does best: investigative journalism and environmental advocacy. Radio Free Vermont will certainly entertain you and it’s a welcome diversion from the 24/7 bad news coming out of Washington. Read it, but don’t expect McKibben’s insights into the Green Mountain State to be as sharp as what he has to say about green energy.
Rob Weir
*McKibben is more romantic about Ethan Allen than I. Allen’s role in the Revolutionary War and the Republic of Vermont is secure, but he was also rash, reckless, a self-promoter and a land speculator.
**McKibben isn’t being entirely fanciful in imagining an independent Vermont. It was independent immediately after the revolutionary War and, in the 1970s, some back-to-the-land hippies were involved in the “Free Vermont” movement. There is also a small contemporary group the advocates a “Second Vermont Republic.”
June 24, 2017
I turned the last page hoping that another would follow.
This lovely book is a parable for our times. Winter has disappeared because of climate change, small towns are losing their distinctive characters to big box stores, downtowns are decimated by the outflow of capitol to big corporations. The impending doom of accelerating oligarchy which has been pumped on steroids by the current administration, threatens our democracy. We think the things that can give quality of life can be purchased. What this means is that those who have little are priced out of quality of life.
Out of this rises one man, Vern Barclay, radio man on the lam, and his happy co-conspirators, who want to send the message that it is time we remember this most important lesson, " ...of , by, and for the People." Oh, and drink good local beer!
As a bookseller for an independent bookstore I am very aware of the need for our local dollars to support out local community. I would not have a job otherwise. In this first novel by Bill Mckibben he takes the issues he has been discussing for decades, climate change and local economy, and writes them in a form for a larger audience. With wit, humor and heartfelt concern Mckibben also writes a road map for a way of resistance that is at its core, non violent, smart and wonderfully, typically New England.
This lovely book is a parable for our times. Winter has disappeared because of climate change, small towns are losing their distinctive characters to big box stores, downtowns are decimated by the outflow of capitol to big corporations. The impending doom of accelerating oligarchy which has been pumped on steroids by the current administration, threatens our democracy. We think the things that can give quality of life can be purchased. What this means is that those who have little are priced out of quality of life.
Out of this rises one man, Vern Barclay, radio man on the lam, and his happy co-conspirators, who want to send the message that it is time we remember this most important lesson, " ...of , by, and for the People." Oh, and drink good local beer!
As a bookseller for an independent bookstore I am very aware of the need for our local dollars to support out local community. I would not have a job otherwise. In this first novel by Bill Mckibben he takes the issues he has been discussing for decades, climate change and local economy, and writes them in a form for a larger audience. With wit, humor and heartfelt concern Mckibben also writes a road map for a way of resistance that is at its core, non violent, smart and wonderfully, typically New England.
August 20, 2020
Quick and quirky, McKibben is clearly enjoying having fun with his characters, setting, and plot line of a secession in the little, but mighty state of Vermont. One can almost imagine his mirth and glee in name dropping craft beers, high school hockey scores, villages and hamlets, and cultural references wholly germane to Vermont all the while weaving in subtle and not so subtle references to climate change and the current hot mess of the Trump presidency. Indeed, Vermont should secede! I’m partial to thinking that those of us who love and/or live in Vermont will favor this book so much more than folks without any association to our Green Mountains. So be it. I found myself surprising fond of it. After all, if McKibben fashions himself a novelist in the tradition of a Tom Robbins —all tongue in cheek and cheeky, dry wit and parody, under bellied by an urge to reconnect us to what’s most important about our shared humanity (nature, relationships, neighbors, purpose, love) — then he’ll find a tribe of readers who will suspend all reservations and dive right in.
September 28, 2017
The Green Mountain state loves its freedom, all freedom in fact. It was the first sovereign state to outlaw slavery and then (after joining the union) the first state to do so, it was the first state to allow gay marriages. And in McKibben's fable it may also be the first state to secede the union. At least seriously think about and take a vote. Something of a libertarian wet dream, something of a pretty astute political commentary this novel, despite its humorous approach and quirky (occasionally too folksy) characters, proposes an interesting scenario, one that possibly has about as much realistic chance as Vermont's own Bernie Sanders at US presidency, but interesting all the same, because fiction is for speculation and ideas and inspiring thinking outside the box. And so in that the book does its job. It also entertains, even if you don't care for politics, it's a quick fun read. Then again if you do, it may not be the thing for you. The book doesn't really go out of its way to alienate specific mindsets, but it certainly does take a position, one made abundantly clear by the author's afterword. In this day and age it's refreshing to see a different kind of flag waving (literally), not the nationalistic jingoistic sort that's been ever so popular. Timely and well worth a read. Thanks Netgalley.
April 17, 2020
Very enjoyable for anyone who knows something about Vermont. Filled with stereotypes that are easy to chuckle at. McKibben is entertaining, but forgets to mention a lot of the real Vermont (the real poor Vermont) between the richer enclaves, and this book will also appeal heavily to those able to wear their expensive Patagonia vests while spouting the Sanders socialism that will guarantee that most regular Vermonters stay in the backwaters of McKibben’s folksy utopia. For what it’s worth, Ethan Allen wasn’t a socialist. Still, more entertaining than preachy and points out many good things about Vermont, simplicity and, ultimately, America.
January 7, 2024
I think I should move to Vermont. The people and beers sound great.
July 5, 2025
Really glad I read this on this fourth of July in particular.
“The gods of the valley are not the gods of the hills” !
“The gods of the valley are not the gods of the hills” !
April 1, 2020
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. It was so short, yet it felt too long. It was an interesting idea, but the politics are confusing and a little misleading - the characters want nothing more than to call themselves liberal, yet they insist on newcomers assimilating to the ways things have always been done. Its “liberal” leaning sometimes reads that way in name only, and worst, there is no dialogue about the issues. We hear Vern’s voice only without any real challengers, and the book assumes agreement rather than earning it. If the book is an argument, it’s not a very convincing one, though the dangers of “bigness” are nicely put.
This book didn’t ~need~ to be complex to make its point, but still, I was disappointed with the flat characters and stiff dialogue. Their personality traits were thrown in inconsistently and their arcs were not really a part of the story at all. More importantly, though, there were so many nuances issues that the book could have engaged with, but chose not to. Race is mentioned... kind of? But we don’t even know the races of the main characters. Sexuality is mentioned, but not challenged. The book is super political on the surface, but never dives into the complexity of the points it raises. This story is a question more than it is a fable, and I think it could have done much more.
Oh, and the name dropping is a paradox. I don’t understand how anyone outside of VT could be interested in hearing the name of every dairy and brewery in the state... but we aren’t either. Half the book feels like product placement, but for whom? Those of us living here know exactly what’s going on on “Church Street Mall in Burlington” and don’t need it explained to us, and anyone from out of state couldn’t possibly care.
This book didn’t ~need~ to be complex to make its point, but still, I was disappointed with the flat characters and stiff dialogue. Their personality traits were thrown in inconsistently and their arcs were not really a part of the story at all. More importantly, though, there were so many nuances issues that the book could have engaged with, but chose not to. Race is mentioned... kind of? But we don’t even know the races of the main characters. Sexuality is mentioned, but not challenged. The book is super political on the surface, but never dives into the complexity of the points it raises. This story is a question more than it is a fable, and I think it could have done much more.
Oh, and the name dropping is a paradox. I don’t understand how anyone outside of VT could be interested in hearing the name of every dairy and brewery in the state... but we aren’t either. Half the book feels like product placement, but for whom? Those of us living here know exactly what’s going on on “Church Street Mall in Burlington” and don’t need it explained to us, and anyone from out of state couldn’t possibly care.
January 8, 2018
Before reading this book, I thought it would be a nice outlet for my anger about the current political situation. I had never read any books by Bill McKibben, the author of Radio Free Vermont. I downloaded it for free from Net Galley and read it now because one of the groups that I participate in on Goodreads selected it as the Book of the Month for January.
Although I really hadn't taken the premise of Vermont's secession from the U.S. seriously before reading this book, let me say that the advocates for Vermont secession in this novel were very persuasive. McKibben tells us that it wasn't his intent to encourage secession of Vermont or any other state. His purpose is to argue for sustainability and small scale economic activities. Both of these are excellent goals.
Radio Free Vermont is fiction. The secession premise can be viewed as a thought experiment. As a thought experiment it looks more workable than it did at first glance, though there would be many details to iron out if it were ever to become more than a thought experiment.
This is my idea of a fun read. I got to consider some important issues and read some very effective satire of what I consider to be ripe targets for satire. This is also a good sign for 2018. I don't usually read a five star book right out of the starting gate, but this is definitely five stars for me.
For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
Although I really hadn't taken the premise of Vermont's secession from the U.S. seriously before reading this book, let me say that the advocates for Vermont secession in this novel were very persuasive. McKibben tells us that it wasn't his intent to encourage secession of Vermont or any other state. His purpose is to argue for sustainability and small scale economic activities. Both of these are excellent goals.
Radio Free Vermont is fiction. The secession premise can be viewed as a thought experiment. As a thought experiment it looks more workable than it did at first glance, though there would be many details to iron out if it were ever to become more than a thought experiment.
This is my idea of a fun read. I got to consider some important issues and read some very effective satire of what I consider to be ripe targets for satire. This is also a good sign for 2018. I don't usually read a five star book right out of the starting gate, but this is definitely five stars for me.
For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
September 2, 2025
A very light, funny, and enjoyable read, exactly what I needed! I am glad I decided to read this one after my trip to Vermont as opposed to before. I feel there were so many subtle references to Vermont cultural quirks that I was able to pick up on. As a student of political science and history I also loved all the interesting takes on globalism, localism, economics, and democracy in this book. Overall I found this to be a beautiful little book about a beautiful little state!
December 17, 2024
This book was so lame ….. it was like if you asked an ai to make a Vermont themed fanfic for people who love NPR. Respect to Bill Mckibben for his work on climate — but this novel was not good and was problematic & weirdly patriotic
At least it was a quick read
At least it was a quick read
February 4, 2018
I really, really wanted to love this book. Having lived in Vermont for over 25 years, I appreciate the unique quirkiness of the place and looked forward to a fun read. In addition, I greatly admire McKibben's environmental work. He is genuinely dedicated and truly lives the talk. Yet this book, in spite of its very promising opening, just doesn't deliver. There are moments of Vermonty fun, but it ends up being a bit too preachy - and preachy in a way that rather ignores historical truths (the people who settled this state in the 1700s were not the first people here) as well as current economic ones (all chains are not bad - some actually pay a living wage and provide benefits which many small locally owned businesses do not). Still, it's meant to be a fable and fables are meant to be simple. Yet, the message gets lost in the preachiness and occasional contemptuous comments about anyone not from Vermont and the humor just isn't really funny enough to sustain a novel. This may have been better as a set of short stories or a novella.
March 20, 2018
How many novels make you think, make you laugh, and make you thirsty for a great Vermont microbrew? How many chase scenes have there been in the history of fiction that involved cross country skiing? This book is a celebration of hope -- in peaceful resistance, in reverence for landscape, and in small-is-better thinking.
A delight from start to finish.
A delight from start to finish.
July 27, 2018
Stars 4 for positive attitude in addition to good writing.
Some satire can get bogged down in bitterness. Not this piece.
Some satire can go on preaching sprees. Not this piece.
Sure there is the telling of the values and discussion of, but not a decision on the part of the main character or narrator to be decisive. Story told in the spirit of here are some things to consider. If you agree with us, go to your town meeting to discuss.
The larger the population a government governs, the less individual people have a say in tjeir own government. Bill McKibben lives in Vermont. Great setting for this little story. Citizens have stronger say in what happens in their communities and their small state. In Vermont, citizens got to town meetings to discuss their concerns. Burlington the largest city has 42,000 people. In a city of that size, people can still know a great many of their neighbors and keep in hand waving contact with their school mates. They have an interest in each other is the own point of this little book. Let us see what we can do together to make Vermont better. Leave US or not leave US. Just let us make us better.
Things to protect: Small dairy farms. Lovers of Ben and Jerry's ice cream appreciate the no-antibiotics milk used. Small breweries. Town meetings. Personal interest in each other.
Wonder if any of this close-knit community ideas might be applied to other parts of US.
Some satire can get bogged down in bitterness. Not this piece.
Some satire can go on preaching sprees. Not this piece.
Sure there is the telling of the values and discussion of, but not a decision on the part of the main character or narrator to be decisive. Story told in the spirit of here are some things to consider. If you agree with us, go to your town meeting to discuss.
The larger the population a government governs, the less individual people have a say in tjeir own government. Bill McKibben lives in Vermont. Great setting for this little story. Citizens have stronger say in what happens in their communities and their small state. In Vermont, citizens got to town meetings to discuss their concerns. Burlington the largest city has 42,000 people. In a city of that size, people can still know a great many of their neighbors and keep in hand waving contact with their school mates. They have an interest in each other is the own point of this little book. Let us see what we can do together to make Vermont better. Leave US or not leave US. Just let us make us better.
Things to protect: Small dairy farms. Lovers of Ben and Jerry's ice cream appreciate the no-antibiotics milk used. Small breweries. Town meetings. Personal interest in each other.
Wonder if any of this close-knit community ideas might be applied to other parts of US.
September 8, 2025
there was a lot that i liked about this book, but it was so unrealistic. judging it as the fable that it is, it’s surely a nice, creative way to imagine resistance against Trump and a post Citizens United world, etc. that being said, judging it as a Book, everything happened far too easily, and with hardly any sense of friction. it was fun to imagine, but i didn’t feel like much work went into figuring out how this would Actually happen. A plucky group of four is not going to completely waste the entire federal government—i wish they could tho!
January 5, 2025
hilarious and unmistakably a vermont tale for vermonters. as a student in vermont i feel like i learned a bit more about what rural vermont life is like, and i appreciate the reality that this book oscillates around in our modern political times.
What i found frustrating with this book is how everything fell into place in this storyline and it felt like the author was trying to race to the finish and punch line of this book. part of which seems to be that the only two female characters (yes they are lesbians because this is vermont duh) get together and hold hands. thank god my heart swelled with joy. felt like the book could have done without that part because it felt tangential, unrealistic, and the book is already passing with flying liberal colors so no need to force the only two queer characters to be together. perhaps it is to say something about love in the time of resistance but i thought it was somewhat unnecessary.
otherwise i like semi liked how this author writes and ill give credit for how hilarious this book is, at least in the beginning. The story kinda runs off and loses the funny parts though perhaps the author did his best to hook people in the beginning and then could slack of with the jokes later in the story.
this could be revised n reprinted and probs a lot better. but i think its a good start and a quick and funny read about the potentials of resistance and secession movements in the US. cool ideas, 6/10 execution.
still worth the read though. thx mckibben
What i found frustrating with this book is how everything fell into place in this storyline and it felt like the author was trying to race to the finish and punch line of this book. part of which seems to be that the only two female characters (yes they are lesbians because this is vermont duh) get together and hold hands. thank god my heart swelled with joy. felt like the book could have done without that part because it felt tangential, unrealistic, and the book is already passing with flying liberal colors so no need to force the only two queer characters to be together. perhaps it is to say something about love in the time of resistance but i thought it was somewhat unnecessary.
otherwise i like semi liked how this author writes and ill give credit for how hilarious this book is, at least in the beginning. The story kinda runs off and loses the funny parts though perhaps the author did his best to hook people in the beginning and then could slack of with the jokes later in the story.
this could be revised n reprinted and probs a lot better. but i think its a good start and a quick and funny read about the potentials of resistance and secession movements in the US. cool ideas, 6/10 execution.
still worth the read though. thx mckibben
February 17, 2018
3.5 stars.
A fast (few hour), fun and thoughtful read. A look at when government and corporations are too big, and small folks want to take agency back again and make the state drinks a craft beer and a glass of iced-cold milk. You'll cheer inside when a 96 year-old and her nursing home friends sew a new Vermont flag.
That said, being a fable, the book makes everything pretty tidy. No one gets hurt in this battle of idealism. But McKibben does a good job showing the doubts and flaws in his character's course of action.
Slight Spoiler:
Ultimately, I like that it ends at a Town Hall without a clear answer. Leaving the final say to us and to the smallfolk in towns across Vermont.
"The gods of the valleys are not the gods of the hills" - Ethan Allen.
A fast (few hour), fun and thoughtful read. A look at when government and corporations are too big, and small folks want to take agency back again and make the state drinks a craft beer and a glass of iced-cold milk. You'll cheer inside when a 96 year-old and her nursing home friends sew a new Vermont flag.
That said, being a fable, the book makes everything pretty tidy. No one gets hurt in this battle of idealism. But McKibben does a good job showing the doubts and flaws in his character's course of action.
Slight Spoiler:
Ultimately, I like that it ends at a Town Hall without a clear answer. Leaving the final say to us and to the smallfolk in towns across Vermont.
"The gods of the valleys are not the gods of the hills" - Ethan Allen.
January 29, 2020
This is not a good novel.
Maybe I’m cynical but I simply don’t believe any resistance led by Vern Barclay and his lengthy, historically pedantic broadcasts would be possible. These broadcasts are written in mostly unreadable paragraphs and would make for pretty boring radio.
Also, while I understand the point the book is trying to make, I am currently living through a fairly snowless New Hampshire January and the snowlessness does NOT come up that much in normal conversation.
I love shopping small. I love local coffee and beer. I don’t love bad novels. I started this book to procrastinate reading Crime and Punishment. Should’ve read Crime and Punishment.
Maybe I’m cynical but I simply don’t believe any resistance led by Vern Barclay and his lengthy, historically pedantic broadcasts would be possible. These broadcasts are written in mostly unreadable paragraphs and would make for pretty boring radio.
Also, while I understand the point the book is trying to make, I am currently living through a fairly snowless New Hampshire January and the snowlessness does NOT come up that much in normal conversation.
I love shopping small. I love local coffee and beer. I don’t love bad novels. I started this book to procrastinate reading Crime and Punishment. Should’ve read Crime and Punishment.
June 24, 2019
This sounded super interesting, and as a native Vermonter who has always been interested in the secession threats posed by the state, I was curious to hear McKibben's take. However, right off the bat, Radio Free Vermont blasts off into conspiracy and chaos. The writing is a trainwreck of thought and difficult to follow because of the secrecy of the information being revealed. It's a mess and I immediately tuned out after two chapters. This book could be loaded with interesting concepts, but if it can't be presented in an informational, conversational way- I'm out.
June 11, 2017
As an alum of Frank Bryan's Vermont Politics class at UVM and a fan of McKibben's writing in general, there were pieces of Radio Free Vermont that I enjoyed. That being said, I never felt that the story earned its length and would have been stronger as a shorter essay.
Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy!
Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy!
September 1, 2018
There are so many small Vermont touches in this book (including cameos by people you may know if you live here) that it will make a good read for many Vermonters, and for anyone who believes in the power of radio. But overall, the ending was not what I was looking for, and it's hard to think of this book as anything more than a lovely introduction to the Starksboro Public Library.
February 21, 2021
wish this could get neg stars bec thats what it deserves. its not funny at all not even black humor just boring and whiny liberal rants. He should stick to his environmental non fiction stuff. Or if he wanted to screech and rant about the president/ current government do it as non fiction not hide beyond annoying stupid cliched characters...
January 14, 2021
If the reader likes tongue in cheek humor and satire, this book is worth your time to read. All about three people's plan and effort to have Vermont secede and become it's own country. The reasoning behind their efforts is classic if one likes that type humor.
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