The Planting of New Virginia

Dense and well-argued... Hofstra meticulously matches... rural cultural mentalities with the geology and land covers of the Shenandoah subregion.

Persuasively depicts the evolving landscape and society of Virginia's eighteenth-century Shenandoah Valley... Required and pleasurable reading for anyone interested in the development of the early American frontier.

At once masterful synthesis and bold exploration... a history, not just of 'planting new Virginia,' but of planting... new America.

Hofstra has ably woven together the many strands of the private and business lives of Shenandoah Valley residents during the formative colonial and early national eras... Comprehensive and well-written.

An important contribution to the growing body of literature on the backcountry... The definitive work on the development of the Shenandoah Valley landscape.

A masterful analysis of the first century of European settlement in the region... An impressive body of primary research and historical and geographical literature.

Hofstra is masterful at digging through individuals' records of accounts to try to discover not only how people lived on a daily basis, but to enter into their mentalité.

The Planting of New Virginia is the product of years of patient, meticulous research and careful historical interpretation. It represents, in fact, a life's work... [It] places settlement in the Shenandoah Valley and the communities, cultural landscapes and commercial networks that sprang from it, in the international context of strategic imperial decisions.

This is a must read for anyone looking for information on the Shenandoah Valley during the Colonial Period.

Thoroughly researched... highly recommended for all scholars interested in the early American backcountry, ethnohistory, environmental history, economic history, and community studies.

We need a historian and geographer with the attention to detail and erudition Warren Hofstra demonstrates in his fine book.

Hofstra's is certain to become the definitive work in the field.

As is typical of fine scholarship, Hofstra's study opens up a variety of possiblities for further inquiry.

Hofstra's work is a compelling and vivacious account of the early evolution of the town and country landscape in North America.

Hofstra has crafted an exceedingly well-turned analytical narrative of Virginia origins... An essential text in its own right.

The book will become essential reading for anyone interested in frontier studies and lays the foundation for scholars of many stripes to build on in future studies.

That Hofstra has opened up... avenues of research is one of the many reasons this book places us in his debt.