Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby’s joint memoir Cousins is told in the voices of two women—one Black, the other white—with a shared Virginia history.…
Rebecca SchneiderAugust 21, 2023
Earl Swift’s book Chesapeake Requiem is the Common Ground Virginia History Book Group pick for June 2023. Chesapeake Requiem explores the close-knit community of Tangier…
Library of VirginiaMay 15, 2023
For many entering the United States, bureaucratic paperwork is one of their first encounters with the United States government. Deepak Singh, author of How May…
Library of VirginiaApril 19, 2023
Robert K. Sutton’s Nazis on the Potomac details the intelligence operations that took place in Virginia’s Fort Hunt during World War II, including the interrogation of…
Library of VirginiaMarch 20, 2023
For March 2023, the Common Ground Virginia History Book Group is exploring the history of Southern baking with Rebecca Sharpless’s Grain and Fire. Sharpless explores…
Library of VirginiaFebruary 20, 2023
Brenda Mitchell-Powell’s book Public in Name Only explores the history of racial segregation in Virginia public libraries through the example of the Alexandria library system and…
Library of VirginiaJanuary 23, 2023
The Common Ground Virginia History Book Club focuses on approachable books focused on Virginia-centered nonfiction. Most of these books are historical narratives and biographies such…
Library of VirginiaDecember 21, 2022
In 1987, the Richmond Times-Dispatch contemplated the future of local libraries thirty-eight years ahead, in the far-flung year of 2025. “There will still be books…
Library of VirginiaNovember 18, 2022
As the Library of Virginia approaches its bicentennial next year, it is a good time to reflect on what collections the Library holds but also…
Library of VirginiaOctober 21, 2022
When Liza Mundy’s book Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II was published in October 2017, one…
Library of VirginiaSeptember 23, 2022
Next month, the Common Ground History Book Group, LVA’s virtual non-fiction book club, will return for a discussion with Kathryn Miles, author of Trailed: One…
Library of VirginiaAugust 26, 2022
Suzanne Stryk views her assemblages as more than just art. In the preface to her book The Middle of Somewhere: An Artist Explores the Nature…
Library of VirginiaJune 24, 2022
The earliest people to hike the Appalachian Trail in Virginia did not have the same experience as those walking it today. In fact, for those…
Library of VirginiaMay 20, 2022
For the majority of United States' existence as a nation, the focus of academic history has been on the actions and achievements of educated, well-to-do…
Library of VirginiaApril 20, 2022
