On the Vineyard: A Year in the Life of an Island

Unlike one of the above reviews, I thought the portrait of Martha's Vineyard given here was eye opening and sometimes harsh, not "soft focus". As someone who has visited the Vineyard, I was put off by the frequent scapegoating of tourists, particularly the often reviled "daytrippers", for all of the islands' problems, by several of the year-round residents interviewed by the author. Believe it or not, some daytrippers actually have a love for this island and would like to support its "homegrown" businesses. It seems that a lot of MV's problems can be traced to 1)infighting by various constituencies w/in the island's year-round population,2)Greed of various developers/property owners, 3)media hype over the island resulting from various celebrities moving to/visiting the island(esp. the President). While I found this book so compelling, that I could barely put it down, it certainly made me think twice about moving to, or even visiting the island again.

I found this book as amusing as it was enlightening. The author suceeds beautifully in capturing the dilemnas, discussions and dreams of the Vineyard which are so familiar to our midwest peninsula. The local observations captured in the book are the exact words you would hear in any one of our coffee shops. Anyone who is considering moving to their favorite vacation spot should read this book first.

I really enjoyed this book. I needed a vacation, but couldn't take one - so this book transported me to the island of Martha's Vineyard for the week. I had always thought year-round island living would be ideal, but the author shows both the wonders and the downside of such a closed society.