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I propose to prepare the first comprehensive, annotated edition of Thomas Jefferson's only published book, Notes on the State of Virginia, incorporating careful analysis of the manuscript in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Jefferson's Notes has often been described as the most important American book published before 1800. A paradox ever since its publication, Notes wavers between the lofty universalism of the great statesman and philosophe and the crass parochialism of the Virginia planter. Astonishingly for such a significant work, there is no edition of Notes prepared from the original manuscript, which contains extensive strikeouts and interlineations. In total, more than 2000 words have been obscured from the original text. The annotated edition will restore this deleted material. An extended introduction will explicate the context, composition, and significance of this landmark American document.