Philip Levy’s new book, The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life is an archaeological biography of the Father of Our Country which uncovers the physical remains of the major sites he lived at or visited--from his childhood home near Fredericksburg to Barbados and Mount Vernon--while also narrating their many, and shifting, afterlives in American popular memory.

Hear from the author at our free book talk and submit your questions. This event will be followed by a book signing.

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Add to Calendar 02/07/2023 19:00:00 02/07/2023 20:00:00 America/New_York Ford Evening Book Talk: The Permanent Resident

Philip Levy’s new book, The Permanent Resident: Excavations and Explorations of George Washington’s Life is an archaeological biography of the Father of Our Country which uncovers the physical remains of the major sites he lived at or visited--from his childhood home near Fredericksburg to Barbados and Mount Vernon--while also narrating their many, and shifting, afterlives in American popular memory.

Hear from the author at our free book talk and submit your questions. This event will be followed by a book signing.

REGISTER

In PersonVirtualBuy the book

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About the Book

No figure in American history has generated more public interest or sustained more scholarly research around his various homes and habitations than has George Washington. The Permanent Resident is the first book to bring the principal archaeological sites of Washington's life together under one cover, revealing what they say individually and collectively about Washington’s life and career and how Americans have continued to invest these places with meaning.

Philip Levy begins with Washington’s birthplace in Westmoreland County, Virginia, then moves to Ferry Farm—site of the mythical cherry tree—before following Washington to Barbados to examine how his only trip outside the continental United States both shaped him and lingered in local memory. The book then profiles the site of Washington’s first military engagement and his nation-making stay in Philadelphia. From archaeological study of Mount Vernon, Levy also derives fascinating insights about how slavery changed and was debated at Washington's famous home. Levy considers the fates of Washington statues and commemorations to understand how they have functioned as objects of veneration—and sometimes vandalism—for more than a century and a half.

Two hundred years after his death, at the sites of his many abodes, Washington remains an inescapable presence. The Permanent Resident guides us through the places where Washington lived and in which Americans have memorialized him, speaking to issues that have defined and challenged America from his time to our own.

About the Author

Philip Levy is a Professor of History at the University of South Florida. In 2008 he won international attention for co-leading the team that found the remains of George Washington’s childhood home at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia — the saga of which he recounted in his 2013 book, Where the Cherry Tree Grew: The Story of Ferry Farm, George Washington’s Boyhood Home. He is also the author of George Washington Written Upon the Land, which explores the many retellings of Washington’s much-fabled childhood and covers themes ranging from biography to archaeology and environmental history to rabbinic thought. Dr. Levy was a member of the Washington Library's 2015-16 and 2022-23 classes of research follows.

Sponsored By The Ford Motor Company Fund

Sponsored By The Ford Motor Company Fund

Mount Vernon has enjoyed a very special relationship with the Ford Motor Company dating back more than 90 years. We are grateful for their generous support and we applaud their abiding respect for American heritage.

Contact

Stephen A. McLeod

Director, Library Programs

703.799.8686

smcleod@mountvernon.org

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