Burlington author produces new book on Vermont activists & movements
Preview by Justin Trombly
A new book by author Greg Guma re-examines the state’s history and tries to define “the Vermont Way” through the stories of its rebels and the movements they led.
The book tells the story of how Vermont came to create its unique political identity: a balance of sovereignty and solidarity, independence and mutual aid.
“If one wonders how Vermont became what it is today — a trailblazer for human rights, climate, income equality, women's reproductive freedom, racial and judicial justice, etc. — read Greg Guma's book,” said Melinda Moulton, CEO and co-founder of Main Street Landing in Burlington. “It is all there — with beautiful enticing words that weave together a picture of the Green Mountain State and the humans who scripted and sent forth the progressive movement.”
The book, Moulton said, offers a true assessment of those behind Vermont’s legacy of social change.
Guma, a Vermont resident since 1968, first released a version of the book digitally in 2017. The expanded print edition boasts more than 100 additional pages, numerous photos and illustrations, new material and added chapters — and, of course, it’s a physical volume.
The idea behind the book began taking shape through Guma’s decades writing in Vermont, beginning with his work as a journalist at the Bennington Banner in the late ‘60s. Through that work, Guma writes in the book, he developed an urge to understand the backstory behind the shifting Vermont in which he had arrived.
Guma explores the values that define the Green Mountain State through the exploits of historical leaders and a more modern vanguard, figures like Phil Hoff, Richard Snelling, Madeleine Kunin, James Jeffords, Howard Dean, and Bernie Sanders. He focuses on more than the brand names, though, and his new Vermont history looks to reclaim many stories that have been lost to time.
“Greg Guma has written a rollicking political and social history of Vermont, one of the most fascinating, and least written-about, states in the union,” said Sasha Abramsky, a journalist and author. “He takes readers on a big journey from the pre-revolutionary years through to Bernie Sanders' runs for the presidency. In between, he introduces larger-than-life figures from the worlds of politics, religion, culture, journalism, industry and array of other areas.”
The book chronicles the political battles of Vermont’s early years, including scrapes between progressives and nativists over the state’s identity. The result, Abramsky said, is an authoritative account written by someone who has immersed himself in Vermont life and politics for decades.
Guma has edited a variety of publications, including the Vanguard Press, the state's first commercial alternative weekly; Toward Freedom, a Vermont-based international affairs newsletter founded in 1952; and Vermont Guardian. He was recently the executive director of the Pacifica Foundation, parent corporation of the Pacifica radio network.
He has written documentary scripts, plays and books, including The People's Republic: Vermont and the Sanders Revolution. He runs Maverick Media, a publishing enterprise that covers media, politics, the alternative press and his life in Vermont.
Restless Spirits & Popular Movements: A Vermont History is published by the Center for Research on Vermont, an interdisciplinary network of scholars and community members housed at the University of Vermont that aims to increase our knowledge of the state — where it’s been and where it’s going.
The cover was designed by student Abby Kaiser and student Ayden Carpenter built the website and is managing outreach.
The book is available from your local book store, on-line and with a contribution to the Center for Research on Vermont – email Emily Anderson (Emily.K.Anderson@uvm.edu). Also email Emily If you would like to schedule an author event or would like signed copies of the book.
For other Vermont books published by the Center see https://www.vermontresearchbooks.org/
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