North Carolina is My Home


Book Description

This is a celebration of North Carolina--the people, scenery, food, history, and much more. Color and black-and-white photographs.




My N.C. from A-Z


Book Description

"Each of the letters in My N.C. from A to Z represents African Americans who hail from North Carolina and have provided positive and indelible influences to arts, culture, and social justice worldwide"--Page 33




Coming Home


Book Description

There is a sliver of sand that extends itself into the sea beyond the usual coastline of North Carolina. Rich in pirate lore, ghost stories, nor'easters, and unpredictable weather, the Outer Banks continues to leave an indelible impression on those who are receptive. A reflection of three generations in the changing landscape of the North Carolina Outer Banks, Coming Home takes readers back to the more innocent era of the 1920s and 1930s, followed by accounts of the legendary Casino, the shifting sand of Jockey's Ridge, and other memories too good to lose from the 1950s and '60s. This reflection comes full circle with stories from vacationers who 'wrote' parts of this ode to the Outer Banks through their own real-life experiences. Author Sally Nixon Haines invites readers to see this place as locals do, offering insider information, travel tips, and amusing anecdotes—all sprinkled with a hearty dose of humor and nostalgia. Whether you're a native to the area, a frequent visitor, or a tourist in the making, you'll enjoy Coming Home: The North Carolina Outer Banks, which urges you to discover the beauty that remains...and don't forget to pack the memories when you leave.




Wild North Carolina


Book Description

Celebrating the beauty, diversity, and significance of the state's natural landscapes, Wild North Carolina provides an engaging, beautifully illustrated introduction to North Carolina's interconnected webs of plant and animal life. From dunes and marshes to high mountain crags, through forests, swamps, savannas, ponds, pocosins, and flatrocks, David Blevins and Michael Schafale reveal in words and photographs natural patterns of the landscape that will help readers see familiar places in a new way and new places with a sense of familiarity. Wild North Carolina introduces the full range of the state's diverse natural communities, each brought to life with compelling accounts of their significance and meaning, arresting photographs featuring broad vistas and close-ups, and details on where to go to experience them first hand. Blevins and Schafale provide nature enthusiasts of all levels with the insights they need to value the state's natural diversity, highlighting the reasons plants and animals are found where they are, as well as the challenges of conserving these special places.




Down Home


Book Description

A sweeping chronicle of Jewish life in the Tar Heel State from colonial times to the present, this beautifully illustrated volume incorporates oral histories, original historical documents, and profiles of fascinating individuals. The first comprehensive social history of its kind, Down Home demonstrates that the story of North Carolina Jews is attuned to the national story of immigrant acculturation but has a southern twist. Keeping in mind the larger southern, American, and Jewish contexts, Leonard Rogoff considers how the North Carolina Jewish experience differs from that of Jews in other southern states. He explores how Jews very often settled in North Carolina's small towns, rather than in its large cities, and he documents the reach and vitality of Jewish North Carolinians' participation in building the New South and the Sunbelt. Many North Carolina Jews were among those at the forefront of a changing South, Rogoff argues, and their experiences challenge stereotypes of a society that was agrarian and Protestant. More than 125 historic and contemporary photographs complement Rogoff's engaging epic, providing a visual panorama of Jewish social, cultural, economic, and religious life in North Carolina. This volume is a treasure to share and to keep. Published in association with the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, Down Home is part of a larger documentary project of the same name that will include a film and a traveling museum exhibition, to be launched in June 2010.




The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Stranger Things meets the South. Chilling, hilarious, and suspenseful—I loved it!”—Felicia Day From the authors of Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality and creators of Good Mythical Morning . . . It’s 1992 in Bleak Creek, North Carolina—a sleepy little place with all the trappings of an ordinary Southern town: two Baptist churches, friendly smiles coupled with silent judgments, and an unquenchable appetite for pork products. Beneath the town’s cheerful façade, however, Bleak Creek teens live in constant fear of being sent to the Whitewood School, a local reformatory with a history of putting unruly youths back on the straight and narrow—a record so impeccable that almost everyone is willing to ignore the suspicious deaths that have occurred there over the past decade. At first, high school freshmen Rex McClendon and Leif Nelson believe what they’ve been told: that the students’ strange demises were all just tragic accidents, the unfortunate consequence of succumbing to vices like Marlboro Lights and Nirvana. But when the shoot for their low-budget horror masterpiece, PolterDog, goes horribly awry—and their best friend, Alicia Boykins, is sent to Whitewood as punishment—Rex and Leif are forced to question everything they know about their unassuming hometown and its cherished school for delinquents. Eager to rescue their friend, Rex and Leif pair up with recent NYU film school graduate Janine Blitstein to begin piecing together the unsettling truth of the school and its mysterious founder, Wayne Whitewood. What they find will leave them battling an evil beyond their wildest imaginations—one that will shake Bleak Creek to its core. Praise for The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek “The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek is like your best friend from high school—kind of weird and a little twisted, but no matter how much trouble they caused, they always made you laugh. You don’t have to be a GMM fan to realize . . . The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek, Will It Awesome Book? F@*# yeah!”—Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy “Most people don’t read books, let alone write them. That puts Rhett and Link in the top 1% of smart people in the world. Read this book.”—Rachel Bloom, co-creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend “It’s scary, it’s fun, and it’s one hell of a carnival ride.”—Kirkus Reviews




True Crime Stories of Eastern North Carolina


Book Description

Eastern North Carolina is a land of contrasts, and its crime stories bear this out. A lovelorn war hero or a stalker? Conniving wife or consummate homemaker? Murder or suicide? The answers can be as puzzling as the questions. Mystery author Cathy Pickens details an assortment of quirky cases, including a duo of poisoning cases more than one hundred years apart, a band of folk hero swamp outlaws, sex swingers and a couple of mummies. Each story has, in its way, helped define Eastern North Carolina and its history.




North Carolina Through Four Centuries


Book Description

This successor to the classic Lefler-Newsome North Carolina: The History of a Southern State, published in 1954, presents a fresh survey history that includes the contemporary scene. Drawing upon recent scholarship, the advice of specialists, and his own knowledge, Powell has created a splendid narrative that makes North Carolina history accessible to both students and general readers. For years to come, this will be the standard college text and an essential reference for home and office.




Good Night North Carolina


Book Description

From the Outer Banks to the Appalachian Mountains, this charming and educational board book takes young readers on an epic journey across the great state of North Carolina, including prominent landmarks and scenic beauty such as Roanoke Island, White Water Falls, Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina Zoological Park, Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, Mile High Swinging Bridge, local foods, music, and more.




North Carolina


Book Description

Bland Simpson, the celebrated bard of North Carolina's sound country, has blended history, observation of nature, and personal narrative in many books to chronicle the people and places of eastern Carolina. Yet he has spent much of his life in the state's Piedmont, with regular travels into its western mountains. Here, for the first time, Simpson brings his distinctive voice and way of seeing to bear on the entirety of his home state, combining storytelling and travelogue to create a portrait of the Old North State with care and humor. Three of the state's finest photographers come along to guide the journey: Simpson's wife and creative partner Ann Cary Simpson, professional photographer Scott Taylor, and writer and naturalist Tom Earnhardt. Their photos, combined with Simpson's rich narrative, will inspire readers to consider not only what North Carolina has been and what it is but also what we hope it will be. This book belongs on the shelf of longtime residents, newcomers, and visitors alike.