“Long before Barack Obama, there was Doug Wilder. The trail blazed by Wilder, the first African-American elected Governor of any state, helped to make President Obama possible. Now for the first time, this grandson of slaves tells his remarkable story in his own inimitable fashion. Son of Virginia is an instant classic that will inform and inspire for generations to come.”--Prof. Larry J. Sabato, Director, University of Virginia Center for Politics

“Governor Wilder’s memoir is must-reading for anyone seeking to understand why Virginia, the place where America began, is once again a national bellwether. Retracing the key moments of his extraordinary career with characteristic candor and flair, America’s first elected African-American governor explains how he demolished the political orthodoxy of the day by taking his case directly to the people. In the process he opened opportunities for others and almost certainly changed the course of American history.”—Frank B. Atkinson, author of The Dynamic Dominion and Virginia in the Vanguard

“Son of Virginia is a vivid, detailed, remarkably candid memoir that shares with readers the thinking, impressions, and feelings of the first elected African American governor in the United States. A learned and impassioned exploration of recent American history, Son of Virginia is itself an important historical document.”-- Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law, Harvard University.

Wilder’s story is one of personal perseverance and triumph. It also describes a political tragedy for the Republican Party. Robert Judson Wilder cast Republican ballots. L. Douglas Wilder became a Democrat. The Wilder memoir has moved to the top of our must-read stack. We anticipate finding additional fodder for comment.

– Richmond Times-Dispatch

A sweeping picture of a motivated man’s success, ‘Son of Virginia’ also offers an insightful and incisive portrait of the new face of the Old Dominion, one that lays at least some of its racist past to rest while simultaneously reveling in its growing inclusiveness. Wilder has left lasting footprints on this city, this state and this nation. Often controversial but never dull, he has forged a vivid reputation, one mated by this moving and engaging memoir. - Jay Strafford, retired writer and editor for The Richmond Times-Dispatch

– Richmond Times-Dispatch

" The book reminds readers of the personal strength and political acumen that his success required. And, his memories of a not-too-distant city and state are crucial to the canon of Virginia history."

– Style Weekly