Description:
Thirty-seven Vermonters take a half-serious, half-humorous, half-ironic, half-dystopian and half-sympathetic look at what Vermont will be like in 2050.
Brief description: Raised in Texas and educated at Harvard, Bill Mares (1940-2024) was a journalist, state legislator and high school teacher. He authored or coauthored nineteen books on subjects ranging from the US Marines and beekeeping to workplace democracy and Vermont humor. He was married for fifty-three years to Chris Hadsel, who helped complete this project after Bill's passing from cancer in 2024.
Review Quotes:
"My hope is that this collection of essays by Vermonters about Vermont's future will inspire people to take action. It's wise, insightful, provocative, and underscores the importance of being proactive. It is also a ton of fun!"
-Howard Dean, governor of Vermont from 1991-2003
"By every statistical measure-volunteerism, trust in neighbors, faith in leaders-Vermont has more social cohesion than anyplace in the country. As this marvelous book makes clear, it's that solidarity-that sense of underlying community-that will bring us through..."
-Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of eighteen books
"In this collection of essays, Vermonters dare to imagine what the state could feel like 25 years hence, based on knowns and unknowns. No one drives anymore. An 80-story skyscraper towers over Burlington. Most of the population is non-white and fiscally conservative. And yet, Vermont is a place full of potential and remarkable for its lack of nostalgia. A place apart from what we know now."
-Anne Galloway, founder of VTDigger