Rasmussen, William M.S. and Robert Tilton. Virginia: The Pursuit of a Pastoral Ideal. Charlottesville, VA: Howell P, 2003. 256 pp.

Remembrances of "Old Virginia" conjure intense pride, yet are also rife with troubling contradictions. For the phrase includes both the impressive accomplishments of the Founding Fathers and Jamestown's ignoble beginnings; it encompasses plantation owners' dignified gentility, but also their dependence on the institution of slavery.

Presents an unbiased survey of the history of this elusive term, disentangling myth from fact.