Curious to find out how this once solidly red state became blue, I recently picked up a copy of "Dateline Vermont", while visiting Montpelier, the state capital. As the former Vermont bureau chief for the Associated Press, Graff covered Vermont politics for more than 25 years. In this memoir, he describes such momentous events as the rise and fall of Howard Dean, the defection of Senator Jim Jeffords from the Republican Party, and the rise of Bernie Sanders, the only democratic socialist in the United States Senate.
Though I enjoyed parts of the book, such as the the section on how the Vermont state legislature recognized same sex civil unions, I was disappointed overall. The main reason for this is that Graff's memoir failed to provide what I was looking for, namely, a good explanation of why Vermont turned its back on the Republican party. To be fair, this book does provide a thorough description of modern-day Vermont politics. What I did not find, however, was a strong analysis of why these events took place.
In short, this is an interesting read for serious students of Vermont politics. This being said, for those who don't live in New England -- which includes this Canadian -- this book is simply OK.
2 1/2 out of 5 stars
