Era 6: Emergence of modern Vermont 1927-present — book reviews
Scott Hastings, Up in the Morning Early: Vermont Farm Families in the Thirties
Joe Deffner, Thetford Academy:
"This was a nice piece of oral history. I found it both interesting and useful in increasing my knowledge of Vermont’s rural heritage. The book provides first-hand accounts from Vermonters who lived through the period. The book is broken into sections such as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Community Affairs, Women on the Farm, etc. The Vermonters interviewed offer their recollections on the preceding topics. The pictures were great, too! I would definitely recommend the book for the Lending Library and a class set might also be useful, particularly for elementary and middle school grades."
Luther B. Johnson, The ‘27 Flood
Joe Deffner:
"This was an interesting book, but primarily useful as a reference book. Billed as "An Authentic Account of Vermont’s Greatest Disaster." I expected more of a primary source document written by various people who lived through it. Whit I found instead was more of a news story. That was fine, perhaps just not as interesting as it could have been. Additionally, though the pictures were very telling, they were somewhat lacking in clarity."
Gregory Sharrow, Many Cultures One People: A Multicultural Handbook about Vermont for Teachers
Joe Deffner:
"I was pleased with the fact that this book was on the reading list, not only because it’s a book that I already use, but because it’s an extremely useful resource. Each chapter focuses on a specific group of ethnic Vermonters. In addition to providing the reader with an interview or narrative of a member of the group, it also includes holiday celebrations, recipes and further teaching steps. I would definitely recommend this book as a very useful classroom resource for all history teachers. Though Vermont is, in many ways, a very homogeneous state, there are many different groups represented here. I think a book like this is crucial in helping students appreciate the diversity within Vermont and hopefully, by extension, the diversity in the United States."
