"Notes on the State of Virginia"
The wide reputation and high value that have been accorded to the Notes on Virginia for over
one hundred years make any attempt to praise it at this day little less than a work of
supererogation. Its frequent republication is alone testimony sufficient to prove its unusual merit.
Aside from its intrinsic value, it is of interest, as Thomas Jefferson’s most serious piece of book-making,
and the one on which the larger part of his philosophical reputation was based during his
lifetime.