At the Falls: Richmond, Virginia, and Its People

by Marie Tyler-McGraw

A study of nearly four hundred years in the history of Richmond, Virginia, ranges from the first encounters between English colonists and Powhatan to the inauguration of Douglas Wilder, America's first elected African-American governor

Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me about a year ago by Bill Martin, who leads The Valentine (Richmond's history museum). As Bill suggested at the time, Richmond needs a modern and up-to-date interpretation of its complex history, but At the Falls may be the best comprehensive treatment we have at the moment. Commissioned in the early 1990s by The Valentine, it reads like a textbook on the city's history and proceeds chronologically. The book lacks strong central narrative threads, so it's a bit of a slog. But interested readers will be rewarded with many nuggets along the way.