Book Talk at the Library of Virginia Thursday, April 3, 2008 Opportunity Time, A Memoir by Governor Linwood Holton Time: Noon–1 PM FREE EVENT Abner Linwood Holton’s election in 1969 as the first Republican governor in more than one hundred years was the culmination of his efforts to create a two-party democracy in Virginia. Opportunity Time is a disarmingly candid memoir that offers a behind-the-scenes account of his private and public life at a critical juncture in the political history of Virginia and the nation. Although a Republican politician, Governor Holton has long held appeal to constituents from both parties. His tenure led to the reformation of the structure of Virginia’s government and balanced the needs of environmental conservation with the need to develop key areas of the state. When the newly elected Holton escorted his children into an integrated Richmond public school in 1970, he delivered the coup-de-grace to the Byrd machine, a network of conservative Democrats who had flouted Brown v. Board of Education through their policy of Massive Resistance for more than a decade. Opportunity Time offers an insider’s perspective on Republican Party politics and race relations through the eyes of a groundbreaking politician. Linwood Holton served as the governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and Harvard Law School. He served on the Submarine Force in the United States Navy during World War II. After his governorship, he served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, the president of the Center for Innovation Technology, and a member of the Board of Directors for Amtrak. Holton is currently a director in the Richmond law firm McCandlish Holton, P.C. The Library of Virginia is located at 800 East Broad Street in downtown Richmond. Free parking is available underneath the building. www.lva.virginia.gov 804.692.3500 ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html