Inside Montana Politics: A Reporter’s View from the Trenches

by Mike Dennison

For three decades, Mike Dennison has reported from the trenches on campaigns, crime and community. He has covered razor-thin victories by Senator Jon Tester. He has helped cover the downfall of Senator Conrad Burns, as well as the conservative senator's improbable compassion for a liberal friend charged with marijuana possession. Also examined are Governors Brian Schweitzer, Judy Martz and Marc Racicot and Montana's longest-serving U.S. senator, Max Baucus. And Dennison has tracked down stories beyond the Capitol, from the devastating fall of the Montana Power Company to a teenager falsely accused of rape who waited sixteen years to be fully exonerated. Dennison treats readers to the rare insights and highlights of a storied career in journalism, along with revelations that have never been exposed--until now.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 8, 2019

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marc Racicot was governor when I moved to Montana so this book covers pretty much the political scene of the last 30 years. Although a red state, Montana has for the last 100 years had at least one Democratic senator and for the past 16 years a Democratic governor. The current governor remains a Democratic presidential candidate as of Oct. 2019. The author is a seasoned veteran Montana political reporter and offers much in the profiles of the men and one woman who have led the state and the men who have represented Montanans in Congress. Although I follow MT politics pretty closely, I learned quite a bit, especially about the partly politically engineered collapse of Montana Power. The book also seems to me to be a throwback to another age of politics, when people tried to work across the aisle and accomplish much.

[Dave Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who knows many of the players in this book, I found a lot of inaccuracies, but the author gives a good outsider’s perspective of those he discusses. He does seem to have a bit of an issue with discounting women and not seeing issues with “men being men.”

[Alex Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does its job, but doesn't do much more than that.

[Sapphire Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives incredible background knowledge on political influences in Montana.