The first comprehensive history of Norfolk to appear since 1930, Norfolk: The First Four Centuries tells the story of America's largest maritime port from the first contact between a Spanish sailor and a Chiskiack man in 1561 to the city's late twentieth-century concerns, including pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, urban development, traffic in illegal guns, and racial tensions.

Thomas C. Parramore is Professor Emeritus at Meredith College. Peter C. Stewart was Professor of History at Old Dominion University. Tommy L. Bogger is Professor and University Archivist at Norfolk State University.