FOURTH EDITION OF ALF MAPP'S "VIRGINIA EXPERIMENT" RELEASED

Alf J. Mapp Jr.'s "The Virginia Experiment: The Old Dominion's Role in the Making of America, 1607-1781" has just been released in its fourth edition as a salute to the approaching 400th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement in 2007.

The cover bears a colorful image of British painter Mike Haywood's "Voyage of the First Settlers 1" and carries quotes from reviews of the first
edition, published nearly 50 years ago.

A 1961 honor graduate of Old Dominion, Mapp taught both English and history at the university for many years, retiring in 1992 and attaining the rank
of eminent scholar emeritus.

Mapp's first signing of the new edition will be in Williamsburg on May 13, following his address to the Jamestowne Society as it launches its participation in the historic celebration.

The Washington Post wrote of Mapp's initial edition, which was published in 1957: "Superb volume ... detailed and very entertaining. ... Reading this volume in conjunction with a trip would provide the best conceivable history lesson, a true appreciation of both the meager and momentous beginnings of this nation."

Famed historian Arthur Pierce Middleton wrote in The Virginian Magazine of History: "Mapp has a genius for narrative history. ... The reader will be entertained and enriched."

Mapp was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree at Old Dominion's December 2005 commencement. On that occasion, President Roseann Runte described him as "a fine scholar, caring teacher and voluminous communicator who has won several awards as a national educator."