North Carolina Books

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.

This excellent book researches the artistic work of nine early painters of the American Western scene: George Caleb Bingham, Charles Deas, William Ranny, Arthur F. Tait, George Catlin, John Mix Stanley, Charles Wimar, Seth Eastman, and Alfred Jacob Miller. The book focuses primarily on the first four artists mentioned, and includes a final chapter dealing with early prints of the West. Over 125 illustrations accompany the text.

All the artists here "instilled in the popular American mind of the period a powerful sense of national identity with the frontier and its people." Their work "exuded an aura of freshness and innocence" and their themes were purely American ones. While Bingham's paintings are often of rural folks assembled in everyday activities (hunting, gathered around a home fire talking, coming together at a polling place on Election Day - this last is certainly a picture worth many thousands of words in its honest portrayal of a vast array of people - rich, old, young, drunk, argumentative, bored - gathered to perform their civic duty), others painted Indians in majestic battle, wagon trains caught in a prairie storm, men fighting a prairie fire, buffalo hunts, Indians in social settings with their tribes: a multitude of scenes set on the Plains or in the mountains of the West. The text, with each chapter authored by a different writer, is authoritative and interesting. Anyone interested in the early West and its representation in paintings and prints will appreciate this book.

John McGowan reminds us that in our current political climate we are in danger of damaging a central mechanism of peace and prosperity: our democracy's commitment to liberalism. The miracle of the founding experiment in American democracy is that a balance of powers was wedded to an understanding (however imperfect) of the need for equality. McGowan's passionate, interesting book is a civics lesson for Americans who have forgotten the importance of those ideas and ideals for the current and future stability and prosperity of our country. The book reminds the reader of the arguments of the Founders, Madison chief among them, and what is at stake in the current illiberal tendencies of our Republic. I found the book thrilling in its clear articulation of what we gain (conservatives and liberals alike) from the core principles of liberalism at the heart of US government. In many respects, the American Experiment is fragile, and we need to remind ourselves just how precious and rare our way of self-governance is in human history. Despite the last eight years there is much to be hopeful about and for. McGowan gives voice to that hope. It is a wonderful, praiseworthy achievement.

I ran across this book in my local library. As an avid history buff, I've always felt my knowledge of the Revolution was lacking. Many books on the revolution end up mired in confusing details. This book by David Russell is probably the best history book I have ever read. He begins by giving a background of the colonies from their origins through the beginning of the war. Russell is good at giving all the important details and backgrounds of the characters without becoming bogged down in too much detail. The book is very well organized by campaigns and I felt that I had an excellent understanding of the war in the south when I finished. Sharp, concise background information on the the leaders and their motives. Almost every small skirmish is covered, as well as the main battles. Where available he gives casualties on each side as well as the result of the battle on the moral of the inhabitants in the area, whose support was crucial to both sides. Most civilians were torn between King and colony and were forced to make a choice. The Patriots who fought for our country risked everything they had, a fact that is mostly forgotten today. Many thanks to Russell whose great writing skills kept me up many a night with a book I just couldn't put down.

This book is a must for anyone interested in the 3 title poets. Wendy Martin does an excellent job in her analysis of these great female poets. She provides necessary backgound information along with correlative interpretation and history of the authors' works. This book is not only a informative and helpful tool, but it is an interesting read.