Lecture: Travels With George: In Search Of Washington And His Legacy

    Improve listing Presented by

Join bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick who will deliver the 2021 J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture based on his newest book, “Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy.”

When George Washington became president in 1789, he undertook a tour of the ex-colonies to talk to ordinary citizens about his new government, and to imbue in them the idea of being one thing—Americans. In the fall of 2018, Nathaniel Philbrick embarked on his own journey into what Washington called “the infant woody country” to see for himself what America had become in the 229 years since. Writing in a thoughtful first person about his own adventures with his wife Melissa and their dog Dora, Philbrick follows Washington's presidential excursions. The narrative moves smoothly between the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries as we see the country through both Washington’s and Philbrick’s eyes. Written at a moment when America’s founding figures are under increasing scrutiny, Travels with George grapples bluntly and honestly with Washington's legacy as a man of the people, a reluctant president, and a plantation owner who held people in slavery.

Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of several bestselling books, including In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award; Mayflower, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Valiant Ambition, winner of the George Washington Prize; Bunker Hill, winner of the New England Book Award; In the Hurricane's Eye; and Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy.

Order a signed copy of the book from the VMHC Museum Shop

Program Notes:

  • There are a limited number of in person tickets available for members. A light reception and book signing will take place at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture following the lecture.Reservations are required.
  • As a reminder, the VMHC is still undergoing construction. The parking lot will be open for this lecture. Please enter using the door on the south side of the building at the bottom of the steps leading to the VMFA.
  • Please note that the restrooms closest to the event space will be one floor above the Robins Family Forum, near the museum galleries
  • The lecture will be also streamed live on Facebook and YouTube for public viewing.