North Carolina Books

Each chapter is like taking a pleasant walk in an interesting place with a friend who is knowledgable and sharing but never didactic. The clear, clean writing flows smoothly and pleasantly thoughout.

Stories of the Blue Ridge Mountains have always been of interest and this one is especially interesting because it explores the clash of cultures when a Florida woman marries a mountain man. Any woman who needs someone to tell her to "go for it" before it's too late will enjoy Cassie Jean's story. Read it, then "chuck it all" and live the life you've dreamed of living.

The period just before I came to awareness of the politcal world--and I came to some such awareness by 1936, when I was eight--has always fascinated me. I remember when I read Frederick Lewis Allen's classic, Only Yesterday (on May 21, 1946), how enthralled I was by the account of the years just before my ken. Much of the same fascination fuels my appreciation for this book, which considers the forces in the Democratic Party in the Twenties and early Thirties and the struggles between them. The author's thesis is that the Democratic Party was at least in the Conventions of the 1920's controlled by the conservative wing, and we know that some of those conservatives left the party in the New Deal days. I found the book full of interesting things, such as a clear explanation of why after the 103 ballots in 1924 the Houston convention in 1928 naminated Al Smith on the first ballot--a result which might mystify but which this book explains convincingly. Anyone who enjoys political history will be caught up by this carefully researched book--I was.

The Civil War is one of the last bastions of the amateur historian, and has given rise to a lot of amateurish work--but not in this case. Author William Marvel has cast aside many of the hackneyed myths that surround the Alabama and her last battle and has gone back to primary sources. Using these obscure logbooks and diaries, he alternately describes the lives of both the Alabama and the Kearsarge and particularly their crews. What emerges from Marvel's combination of conscientious research and lively writing is a tale both scholarly and enthralling, a detailed and fascinating slice of Civil War life at sea. I have read no other account of the Civil War-era sailor that gives such a vivid and convincing picture of his origins, thoughts, work, fights and ultimate fate. To back up the narrative there are a few interesting photographs (no plans for modelers, though), plenty of footnotes, a complete bibliography, a glossary and crew rosters. This book stands head and shoulders above the standard glory-mongering Civil War tales of derring-do, and will delight the armchair historian or naval history buff.

I loved this book. It richly describes the old 'General Store' days of my grandfather. Some may have been sitting in the sun playing checkers, but times were hard then, and most people worked from sun-up to sun-down.

This books lets you hear, feel, and smell those old places. It introduces you to some of the old pioneers of The NC area. You can almost feel their hard cracked hands, as if the author had you shake hands.

With this book you can actually drive and see some of the old stores still standing. But more fun, was visiting the ones that are STILL in business.

If walls can tell stories, then they surely bend MS Woodys ear! A very enjoyable read!

An inspiring story of a black community's struggle to save its schools! I use this book in an educational history course I teach at the university level. Students love the book and begin to think more critically about issues surrounding school desegregation as a result of reading it. I highly recommend it.

I came across a copy of this book in an old book store, when I was working on my family history. I purchased the book then and I could not believe how it helped my research. The alumni detail is fantastic.
Here is an example of one entry:
Davis, Thomas Whitnell. Physician
Mayodan; pres. Winston-Salem; s.m. 1895-96; M.D. S.C. Med. col. 1898; b. Louisburg, Nov. 10, 1876; p. Thomas Whitnell and Penelope(Jones); m. Frances Conrad, June 8, 1904; specialist eye, ear, nose, and throat diseases; fellow Am. acad. opthalmalogy and otolaryngology; ibid. Am. col. of surgeons; capt. med. corps. U.S.A. 1918-19; Methodist

If this is your ancestor, you now know: The parents names and even the mother's maiden name. Where he was from and where he is as of 1924. You know he served in WWI and the dates and even what his religion was. You know who he married and when.

Not every alumni entry is as complete, but some entries have even more. The book is broken down into:
Alphabetical Roster, Supplement to Alphabetical Roster;
Roster os Student Body;
Roster of Student's Army Training Corps(fall of 1918);
Roster of those receiving Honorary Degrees 1799-1924;
Roster showing geographical distribution of living alumni;
Class roster from time or reopening in 1875;
Present University Organization and Faculty;
Roster of University Trusteesa and term of office.

Simply amazing compilation. Covers 1795 to 1924. My opinion is at $30.00 you are getting a real bargain.

In 1950, Joe McCarthy started telling USAmericans that there was a Great Communist Conspiracy that had infiltrated the U.S. govt., the Press, the churches, you name it. One of his prime exhibits was the AMERASIA case, where what started as an espionage conspiracy suddenly, mysteriously collapsed. "It's true," said the Right and the Republicans. "Nonsense you're all paranoids," said Democrats, liberals, and the Left. Now, thanks to Klehr and Radosh, we have the truth, and it is stranger than anything either side ever suspected. There were multiple, independent, overlapping conspiracies, at AMERASIA magazine (to spy for Stalin),in the State Dept. (to undermine FDR's China Policy), in the Communist movement (to shape U.S. policy) in the Justice Dept. (to cover up political embarrassments) and in Congress (to cover up the other conspiracies). Had the truth been told then, we might have been spared some of the worst political messes of modern times. Highly Recommended.

This is an excellent book with an intro. to the idea of communal movements in America, and then is divided into chapters regarding many of the communal movements throughout history. It is well written, and easy to read. We used it as a textbook in a college course I took entitled "American Utopianism". Not your typical, boring, gotta read it a couple times to make sense of it book. It has really inspired me to learn more.

This historical and sociological study of Buddhism in the U.S. from 1844 to 1912 provides insight not only into American Buddhism but also into American culture in the Victorian period and the interactions between new religious movements and the values and beliefs of the dominant culture. The book is academic but not obtuse, and it's relatively engaging.

Tweed explores in detail the ways in which European-American converts to and sympathizers with Buddhism in the Victorian period both dissented from the dominant culture and also consented to it, and he observes that to be successful, a new or transplanted religious movement needs to be different but not too different from the dominant culture. Tweed argues that Buddhist adherents and sympathizers shared a number of basic Victorian American values and beliefs that Buddhism, as it was then understood, seemed to contradict: theism; individualism (a label that Tweed actually uses for two distinct things: the belief in a substantial and immortal self and an emphasis on self-reliance); optimism (a belief in the basic goodness and inevitable progress of individuals and history); and activism (an emphasis on moral action to uplift individuals and reform societies). In contrast, Buddhism was seen as atheistic, nihilistic, pessimistic, and passive. Although some Americans attracted to Buddhism were able to reject theism and the belief in a substantial self, very few were able to relinquish their commitments to optimism and activism, and they rejected interpretations of Buddhism as pessimistic and passive. Tweed finds that two major sources of Buddhism's appeal during the Victorian period were the perception that Buddhism was more compatible than Christianity with science and the perception that Buddhism was more tolerant than Christianity and Victorian culture toward religious and cultural outsiders.

Tweed also provides an interesting typology of Euro-American Buddhist adherents and sympathizers in Victorian America: the "esoteric," "rationalist," and "romantic" types.

Also recommended: "Buddhism in America" by Richard Hughes Seager.