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Title details for Radio Free Vermont by Bill McKibben - Available

Radio Free Vermont

A Fable of Resistance

by Bill McKibben
Danny Campbell
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
 “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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 7, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525523246
      • File size: 169792 KB
      • Duration: 05:53:43

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Danny Campbell perfectly captures this audiobook's protagonist, Vern Barclay, a 72-year-old lifelong Vermonter and accidental freedom fighter. After the protest of a new Wal-Mart takes an unexpected turn, Vern, a former talk-radio host, goes rogue and broadcasts from a secret location as "Radio Free Vermont." Vern fills the airwaves with talk of secession from the U.S., and his eccentric crew carries out inventive acts of resistance, like the amusingly polite heist of a Coors Beer truck. Campbell's friendly, raspy voice is ideal for Vern, who is world-weary but ultimately optimistic. There isn't much vocal variation for other characters, but they're broadly drawn anyway, and Vern is very much the heart of the story. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 11, 2017
      Summoning the spirit of Edward Abbey, environmentalist and author McKibben (The End of Nature) makes his fiction debut with this rollicking tale of monkeywrenching and political activism. Proud Vermonter, local ale lover, and radio personality Vern Barclay didn’t mean to become a radical, but when the new owners of his radio station tell him he can’t be critical of big media on his show he pushes back by getting creative with his coverage of the controversial opening of a new Walmart. After things spiral out of control he’s forced to go underground, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing his clever acts of resistance, including hacking into the sound system of a Bennington Starbucks to broadcast a Radio Free Vermont podcast touting the value of buying local. The podcast’s tone quickly becomes revolutionary, and soon Barclay has called for secession to be put on the agenda of town meetings across the state, and Ben and Jerry’s has created a Free Vermont ice cream flavor (made with Vermont milk and maple syrup, of course). Aided by a motley crew of friends and recruits, Barclay’s disruptive hijinks get bigger and crazier (including setting a house on fire) as the authorities close in on him. With a playful and quick-moving plot that belies the seriousness of the book’s environmental and political message, McKibben’s stirring call for recognizing the value and power of smallness in a globalized world makes for a vital and relevant fable.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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