North Carolina Books

The theme of slave trade dominates the book.
However, it is neither monotonous nor depressing.
In fact, it was necessary to do so, because the book did clearly explain the political factors and social rules of an influential white society that has forged the irrevocable fate of slaves.
After reading the book, one might wonder what decisive role, did the Africans in Africa play in the slave trade?
The book also addresses the issue of the effects of religion on African slaves brought to the United States.
It is fascinating to read about how ethnic African traditions and deep rooted religious beliefs got mixed up with the teachings of a White Church in America.
We see here two divergent Christianities: A white Christianity and a black Christianity.
Equally fascinating is how African slaves tried to preserve their ethnic language, traditions and way of life, later to adopt a new form of linguistic expression stranger and incoherent to both the American white society and the oppressed black community.
The book is a chronicle of the human drama and social conflict; a conflict that one day will explode to create a new identity for African American in a capitalistic and threatening society.

This book is excellent. Like someone said everyone of African ancestry needs to read this book. I had to buy my own copy.

This is an excellent book. I want every one of African descent to read this book. It is fantastic. This book is in my 10 list.

Early on the Africans were well aware of their ethnic identities, but over time, they were forgotten, and a new people emerged. Now this took generations. It was a slow and torturous process.

If you want to educate yourself about black folks in America and where they came from, and how they evolved, read this book.

This book is of decisive importance, for by studying the convergence of an African American nationality out of the various nationalities and ethnicities that people were brought here from Africa, Michael Gomez underlines the function of the African-origins cultures and the construction of an African-American culture in a process of resistance and opposition to the inslavement, dehumanization, and degredation that Africans and their descendants have face.

Contrary to many popular assumptions, Gomez shows that in colonial and early independent America slave holders and slaves were quite aware of the different African cultures and ethnicities represented among the enslaved. Trade patterns, affinities of slave buyers for certain types of ethnicities, beliefs that some peoples were good for some tasks, others for others, led to many concentrations of slaves from the same culture and language groups in colonial America. This ensured that Africans in American tended to preserve very much of their native cultures, religions, and outlooks.

Indeed, Gomez illustrates that in language and religion large sections of the African American people in becoming retained their African religion, and at first retained their African languages, and then began our own African American language (Black English) precisely because the context of the dominant culture and its language and religion were hostile to the human dignity of Africans in America and their descendants.

Gomez's solid research and clear evaluation of massive amounts of original sources upsets many ideas on African American history that were assumptions and not facts. One of the most important is the lateness and difficulty that Christianity had in gaining seizable conversions among Africans in America and their descendants. He suggests that only by the time of the Civil War were African Americans substantially Christian. Gomez demonstrates that except for an overly assimilationist minority among "freed" slaves, Christianity only caught on where African religeous practices were mixed into it. More importantly, Gomez explains the reason for the final victory of Christianity is that it could be manipulated to provide a rationale and hope of liberation from racism and oppression both metaphysical and physical, that the individual African religions could not provide. Gomez illustrates that what occured was the development of an African American religion, rather than the adoption of a European religion.

In the process, the reader will learn new and more accurate views of whence and when Africans were brought to America during the period of slavery. The reader will learn the general political and religious outlooks of the different major groups of Africans who came here. The reader will learn a survey of the historical, economic, and political upheavals in AFrica wrought by the slave trade.

This is a serious and important book, written at the highest level of scholarship. Thus, it is sometimes not easy reading and certainly is not written as a popular entertainment. Yet, even the casual reader who sticks with this book and turns to Gomez's notes and bibliographic material for more to read will be vastly rewarded.

A superb book that is a "must read" for every African African American man, woman and child. This book is the stuff of seminars, workshops and discussion groups at all levels. One of the fascinating positions exposed by Gomez was why it took the diverse ethnic Africans to achieve an African American consciousness. The depth of documentation was monumental. I always wondered why the color "red" had such significance in the African American "red clawt" tales. Gomez' book inspired me to research this aspect of African American tales. Thank you Mr. Gomez!

This book was a great read and provided insight into the highly competitive field of integrated circuits. The author does not have technical background and so don't expect anything crazy. But, he does do a good job of explaining what goes on and the enormous effort that takes place. A wonderful read for the aspiring entrepreneur and the electrical engineer.

I presently work in the RF/Microwave industry and have just finished my MBA. It was fun to read about a startup in the wireless semiconductor industry and all it took to get the company off the ground.

According to all business logic RF Micro Devices should never have been born, much less built to a world-leading high-tech company: yet, it did, and Jerry D. Neal and Jerry Bledsoe chart its amazing rise in Fire In The Belly: Building A World-elevating High-Tech Company From Scratch In Tumultuous Times. Author Neal left his own job to help his friends raise money to start the revolutionary company on a shoestring in 1991: a company which was to market only seven products. These were key products, though, from the first radio frequency integrated circuits cell phones would come to rely on to a power amplifier chip which succeeded in building the company. An entertaining, riveting story of business success results.

According to all business logic RF Micro Devices should never have been born, much less built to a world-leading high-tech company: yet, it did, and Jerry D. Neal and Jerry Bledsoe chart its amazing rise in Fire In The Belly: Building A World-elevating High-Tech Company From Scratch In Tumultuous Times. Author Neal left his own job to help his friends raise money to start the revolutionary company on a shoestring in 1991: a company which was to market only seven products. These were key products, though, from the first radio frequency integrated circuits cell phones would come to rely on to a power amplifier chip which succeeded in building the company. An entertaining, riveting story of business success results.

If you've ever doubted the importance of adaptability, the power of perseverance and their combined ability to affect extraordinary change, look no further than your cell phone. After reading Fire in the Belly, you'll never look at it (your cell phone), business, or the world the same way again. Neal explores joys experienced and challenges endured in building a world-class high tech firm from the ground up (or in this case, one step and one power amplifier chip at a time). He shares wisdom that money can't buy and provides lessons learned about people, projects, and persistence that would serve anyone well. (Note: If you've ever initiated or championed a new idea, worked as a "start up project" team member, been passionate about an area of interest,or otherwise felt or witnessed the entrepreneurial spirit's "spark," you'll be particularly appreciative of Neal's perspective on his work and his brilliant comparison of it to play ("like kids on a ball field who hate to quit playing and come in at night"). Fire in the Belly is a must have for entrepreneurs and for anyone in a leadership role, and it should be required reading for students (in all disciplines, but especially undergraduate business students and M.B.A. candidates). Aside from being a fascinating read, its message is real...Neal's business/life lessons are applicable beyond the classroom, the boardroom, the semiconductor facility and Wall Street. I only wish I'd had benefit of this book years ago.
Lynne Ivey, Corporate Training & Development Manager, Biltmore Estate/The Biltmore Company (Asheville, NC)

Snakes are still not my favorite part of nature, but this book helps identify the different species in North Carolina and understand their ways and habitat. Excellent illustrations. Highly recommend this book.

Some field guides leave me wanting more information, others have so much detail as to make simple identification difficult. This book was just right. Consistent information format for each species, along with several pictures at different stages of development and gender. Made it very easy to determine what snake we had seen. What originally drew me to this book was that it was targeted specifically to North Carolina, I was surprised to find that some snakes have ranges that do not cover the entire state.

This is a good book, filled with information about Snakes. I found it very helpful in learning how to identify snakes in my yard.

book came quickly. good review for snakes, with great pictures and short synopsis of each snake for the entire state, catagorized in sections.

"A Guide To The Snakes of North Carolina" by Michael E. Dorcas is an excellent book for snake identification and FAQ's. I was able to identify the snake that kept showing up in my backyard and after reading the info. on the snake, I no longer feared it. This book has actually helped me overcome my phoebia of snakes and I recommend it to every North Carolina resident!!

A compelling storyline full of facinating bits and pieces about North Carolina's coastal heritage. It's a must read for NC fishermen.

This is a very well researched book about the history of charter fishing off Hatteras Island. The author combines archive research with annecdotes collected from his repeated trips to the island. The reader also has a feeling of sadness as the author's wife slowly succumbs to MS while he is doing his research.

Well worth the time to read.

HATTERAS BLUES: A STORY FROM THE EDGE OF AMERICA is part biography and part regional history: it uses the experiences of one long-time fisherman on North Carolina's outer banks to reveal the issues of a fading industry and the development of Hatteras Village in the heart of Hurricane Alley. Tom Carlson's involvement with his subject leads him to the heart of a family and a town's struggles and faith in a warm first-person survey which at times reads with the quiet drama of fiction.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Great book. I love to hear the stories of the people in this book, of course the fishing is always good. The weather and the constant movement of the cape was and is totally intriguing.

I have been visiting the North Carolina outer banks since 1970. I did not think anyone had as much love or reverence of this special place as I, but I was wrong. Tom Carlson in Hatteras Blues has established himself as a true devotee of these narrow islands off the Carolina coast. He captures the lure of isolated and wind-worn beaches and ever-changing off shore waters where fishermen (and women) from the smallest North Carolina towns to the largest international cities have searched for prize bill fish, bull drum, cobia and a host of other species for several decades. The reader is absorbed in the story of the Fosters and others who fought the harshness of life on the outer banks to create a thriving charter fishing industry that today is being challenged by corporations and those uncaring of the outerbanks special culture. Carlson is a waterman by birth and a "Banker" by choice. Hatteras Blues is a heartfelt story of great loss, love, spirit, transformation and hope set in one of the most magical places on planet Earth. Rates with Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea for bringing to life the conflicts, the turmoil and the serenity of what it means to be a part of the sea and the coast. Highly recommended.

Surprising this hasn't been reviewed since 2005.

This is an awesome book. Doesn't matter this is written by and about black folks, it is fully accesible to everyone. Its a joy to read and I'm not the fastest reader, but I ripped through this collection of stories and enjoyed the wit and wisdom inside each telling.

Folksy and down home, like a summer day in the country: hearing the cicadas, a porch, rockin' chair, a tall glass of sun tea and this book: perfection.

The narration is like flowing poetry, and really takes you into the character's world! It's hard to put the book down and not want to keep reading more!

In these short stories, Randall Kenan makes the people of Tims Creek so real that one expects to take a map and go meet them. These are "real" people with a history, with folklore, with religion, with complex relationships. The stories explore a variety of situations - the hypocritical preacher, the family accepting the sexual orientation of a son, the "perfect woman" snapping under the pressures of "perfection," the double-crossed and financially strapped worker, religious law vs. the reality of a hard-scramble life, new life from a May-December affair ... It is in the selection of detail that Kenan excells - the history of Tims Creek refers to well known gospel hymns that perfectly identify the tone of community. Or the mother proud of her son, a medical research doctor in Salt Lake City who would be more proud if he'd stayed in North Carolina. Or the cadences of a southern preacher in internal dialogue - " Fire. Nostrils. The four winds. Breath. Her breath. Some days atale, some days swwet, some days stinking of fish and onions."

These are stories that stay with the reader, begging to be read and reread.

I was lucky enough to have Randall Kenan as a teacher for a college fiction class, some seven years ago. I have read books by former teachers which I have not been enthralled with, and then there's Let The Dead Bury Their Dead. Seven years have gone by, and there are aspects of the stories contained in this collection that are never far from my mind. The elderly woman teacher, Mabel, who is going crazy. Mabel, Mabel, Mabel. The woman whose grandson dies, who then meets his lover, and struggles. The woman luxuriating in the bathtub, listening to Al Green sing Let's Stay Together, as she thinks of her young lover. One measure of a book is how it stays with you. I assume I will take Let The Dead Bury Their Dead to the grave.

What can I say? From the first story to the last (my favorite, a mesmerizing tale about a former slave who achieves a mythic quality to his life) this collection of stories is brilliant. It is a consistently inventive, intelligent, and passionate account of the fantastic, mystical, and ordinary lives in a small Southern town. Keep writing, Mr. Kenan. I, for one, await a follow-up to this book.

Although it's been mentioned as the "best book" for plant identification in the Southeast by reviewers, this is simply not accurate and any true field botanist can attest to this. It's a wonderful manual for an OVERALL coverage of Carolinas, parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and portions of Alabama and northern Florida. In regards to wetland plants, Godrey & Wooten's work remains the gold standard for the entire SE. Andre Clewell's "Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Florida Panhandle" is better even without illustrations and covers many, many more species. As you move away from the Jacksonville, FL area and move westward toward the panhandle (and still well within the heart of the SE) Radford, et al. becomes hit and miss and doesn't cover the much more species rich area of the Florida Panhandle and adjacent southern Alabama and SW Georgia.

Radford, et al. still remains an invaluable book for those within the heart of it's range and then some. As for the outdated names, any competent plant taxonomist can find a list of synonyms and cross reference their identifications, so this is hardly a criticism of a work of this caliber.

As a botany major, I have to say this is the most important book to have in your collection. I use it for classes, I use it for the field, I use it for reference. Some things are outdated and need to be corrected, but for the most part it is essential for anyone dealing with plants. One concern I have is that it may be hard to use for people who are not knowledgeable in plant vocabulary. The keys are sometimes difficult for even advanced botanists to use, and not always because of the plant in question. It is a must-have for anyone dealing with plants, but a good plant dictionary is something I heavily recommend.

Though the Green Bible has been the best in the southeastern US for the past 30 years, and is still the best published manual for the Carolinas, it's in dire need of updating. Taxonomy for many of the species has changed, many more species have been discovered in the Carolinas since it was written (some native, some exotic), and the dot maps reflect what was know about species 30-40 years ago and don't necessarily reflect what is known about current ranges (also, the county dots aren't always backed up by occurrence records deposited in herbaria and thus are difficult to confirm)... overall, a wonderful publication, but one in need of a modern overhaul.

I have gone through 4 of these in the past 26 years and I heartily recommend it for anyone with a more than passable amount of knowledge concerning plants.

I have used this book for almost 30 years, and there is none better for the Southeast. Even if you use other guides, this one is the final authority! I cross reference everything through this book.

Ron Rash's Raising the Dead focuses on the theme of loss, both on a personal and on a community wide scale. The poems read like chapters within a longer work of fiction, telling the story of the Jocassee Valley community which is set to be flooded by the power company. These poems deal with the land itself, the connection of the people to their homes, and with the horrible situation of having to "raise the dead" from their original graves to relocate them before the valley is completely flooded. These poems are haunting and wonderfully written, but the most powerful poems in the collection deal with Rash's own personal grief over the death of his cousin. These bittersweet poems simultaneously reminisce about carefree days spent with his cousin and mourn his loss. I am sure that everyone who reads this collection will find at least one poem they cannot forget; for me, that poem is "The Debt." My first reading of this poem brought me to tears, and I am still haunted by the imagery and emotion bound within its slight 20-line frame. Focusing on Rash's aunt and uncle as they select the coffin for their son's funeral, this poem chronicles the sacrifices parents make for their children. One of the most heartbreaking things anyone can imagine is the death of a child, and the willingness of this couple to break their backs in their fields for years to pay for the best possible coffin for their son is an amazing testimony to love which knows no bounds. Rash is an amazing author, whether he is writing fiction or poetry. His ability to focus on complex emotions within the tight confines of his favored seven-syllable line poetry makes him a true master of his craft. Although largely defined as an Appalachian author, this collection of Rash's poetry speaks to everyone who has experienced loss and is truly a treasure of modern poetry.

Ron Rash crafts his work carefully, and a tight, lyric rhythm is the result. Each poem is a masterpiece and rings with honesty and clarity. Because he is a poet, Rash's prose also rings with a rhythmic lilt. He is a fantastic writer, whatever genre of his you choose to read. Gathering Stones

Ron Rash is an up-and-coming Southern writer. Content and language captures the South of today and yesterday. Quick reading with both the humorous and serious mixed in such a fashion that the reader wants to get to the next page, the next scenerio, the outcome. I have several of his works and they are all terrific.

Raising the Dead, Ron Rash

This book, both inside and out, is a work of art, equal to and even surpassing the others Iris has done. I opened it as soon as it arrived, knowing Ron Rash and Iris and knowing that this would be a once-in-a lifetime experience, and it was--and is.
To begin with, the book is physically beautiful, the cover design an invitation, even an enticement into the poems themselves. After reading the poems, one is drawn back to the cover, realizing the profound implications of the photo. Even the colors chosen complement the content of the book.
Ron's poems are so provocative and so keenly crafted that one reading is never enough. The images are so strong that they take the reader by the throat and heart right through the experience and emotion of the poem, and then the image echoes like a song repeating and repeating itself both awake and in dreams. I will never get over "Under Jocassee" and "Whippoorwill" and "Speckled Trout" and "Brightleaf" and "At Reid Hartley's Junkyard" and ....
Ron's poems are so moving that one can read only one or two poems at a time. Almost every piece is so rich with implication and surprise that it's like reading a powerful short story, like having lightning strike right in your own backyard.
I will be using many of the poems in Raising the Dead not only in poetry workshops as examples of the BEST in contemporary poetry but also in my bereavement counseling and medical ethics group sessions.
Wow! What a treasure!
In short, this book not only enriches but deeply affects--changes--the reader's life. What more could a poet or a publisher or a reader desire?

In RAISING THE DEAD, Ron Rash not only raises the bar for himself but also for anyone else that chooses to write Appalachain-based verse. As in AMONG THE BELIEVERS, this poet demonstrates an uncanny ability to create rhythmic short lines (seven syllables).

Rash closes a poem as well as anyone writing today. As a result, the ghosts in these poems, of the Jocassee Valley and its aqua-burial and of the revisited ancestors and historical figures will haunt the reader beyond the pages of the book.

Finally, what sets Rash apart from many of his contemporaries is his ability to recognize and to develop valid poetic topics. There is nothing superficial, superfluous, or forced in the pages of this volume. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The battle of Cedar Mountian was fought in early August, 1862. The battle took place just south of Culpeper, Virginia along present day highway 15. Cedar Mountain was a prelude to the battle of Second Manassas. Robert K. Krick has done an excellent job of bringing this battle to light. As in all of Krick's books, the research is outstanding and the story well told. This was not one of Jackson's best performances on the field of battle, and Krick does not gloss over the mistakes. Robert K. Krick knows his subject, and it shows up in his writing.

385 pages for a 5 1/2 hour battle tells you just about everything you need to know. Krick is very thorough in depicting the battle and is also forthright in warning the reader that he is sometimes delving into supposition and making logical conclusions from the facts at hand. His writing is reminiscent of Gordon Rhea as is his detail. Good maps. I am hard pressed to see how this added to Stonewall's reputation as Bank's men, far outnumbered, kept Jackson from interrupting the consolidation of Pope's Army of VA. This book should stand as the definitive work on the battle.

Jackson leaves his lethargic performance at the Seven-day's battles to go North to confront Pope and northwest of Richmond he runs into a former nemesis from the valley, Banks. Banks gives him great fits in a slug fest described in minute detail by his battlefield biographer Krick. The desperate battle shows Jackson's personal leadership as he is at the brink of failure when he impulsively rushes to the front to have his troops hold and counterattack. He heroically pulls his sword and leads by waving it to the front. Krick's descriptions are so detailed and accurate there is a bit of humor as Jackson, unable to pull his sword out of the scabbard, waves his sword with the scabbard still in place. This is a ferocious battle as a cannon shot decapitates the leader of the Stonewall Brigade, Winder. Ironically, A. P. Hill comes up and virtually helps save the day. The Union Commander, Banks, although not considered particularly competent, always gave Jackson an unusually hard time in battle such as an earlier defeat at Kernstown. This battle, although a victory for the Confederates, still leaves a bit of a shadow on Jackson, as he seemed ill prepared for battle and survived with assistance from Hill's legendary light division. This battle has everything including a virtual suicidal Union cavalry charge at the Union's final desperate attempt at victory.

The tactics of the battle cannot be better described by anyone other than Krick who was the Superintendent of the battlefields at and around Fredericksburg. A great researcher, Krick probably walked the entire battlefield. Comes with a number of helpful maps showing movements, which help the reader, follow the detailed battle movements.

Over several decades I have read thousands of Civil War
books, and this is one of the best ever! It should be required reading for anyone researching and/or writing about any aspect of the Civil War. Mr. Krick's masterful study of the battle makes any further account superfluous; it has
the suspense and excitement of a novel. And, after all, why
bother with fiction when such superb historical books are
available? Excitement and education - what could be better?

In my humble opinion, Krick has written an excellent account of a small-scale and largely forgotten but bloody battle. Compared to Gettysburg, Antietam, Chickamauga, Vicksburg, and a host of other larger Civil War battles, Cedar Mountain has been largely forgotten. Fortunately, Krick has taken the time to produce an excellent account of what Stonewall Jackson himself admitted was his finest battle.

Krick manages to weave accounts of combatants of both sides with vivid battle actions and excellent descriptions of various terrain features that figured prominently during the battle. The book also contains something several other Civil War studies lack - excellent and ample maps. The maps are of excellent quality and help the reader better understand the flow of battle.

I haven't visited the battlefield since the mid-1990s but plan to return in the near future. Krick's title will be an invaluable aid for better understanding the battle during my next visit.

Read and enjoy. Highly recommended!

Dr. Fleming shares his memories of the summer of 1956 in a small town in North Carolina. His cousin Ike, a city-boy, who got in trouble because he ran with the wrong crowd, was sent back to the hometown to be reformed by his strict grandfather and other relatives. Johnny and he were put to work for which they each earned four dollars for their summer's labor. Although the town, school and churches were segregated, John describes life in a black family and community which shared the best of what is now called "family values." Although I grew up in a small mostly white town in the north in the fifties and there were many superficial differences in our experiences, I was amazed at how many similarities there were in the things that matter, such things as the value placed on hard work, being part of a family that had pride in itself where members shared a sense of responsiblity to uphold its good name and to help each other out, and being part of a community where the older folks of the community knew all the kids and shared the responsibility to look out for them. What a difference from today where families and communities are fractured and the values of young people often come from a youth culture created by mass media driven by commercial objectives and no sense of responsibility for the monsters they create.

A Summer Remembered ia a beautifully written story about a young John Fleming and his family. It is often very funny but rich in African American family values. Fleming's story was refreshing.

Having grown up in NC at about the same time as Dr. Fleming and in another small town, his wonderful story triggered memories of my own experiences with life in a small town, not as an African American, but as a white child at times perplexed by the relationships between blacks and whites in a changing society. I highly recommend this coming of age memoir for young adults as well as adults who will read of life through the observant eyes of a person who has experienced a fascinating, and yet frustrating, time in our recent history. One cannot help but see how things have changed and yet in so many ways have remained the same.

A Summer Remembered by John E. Fleming
Reviewed by Chiquita Mullins Lee

Morganton, North Carolina, was populated by folk who lived out a familiar principle - it takes a village to raise a child - especially during the summer of 1956 when Johnny Fleming's cousin, Ike, comes to visit. Ike had gotten in trouble in Durham, so his parents send him to the "country" where he'd benefit from the influence of Cousin Johnny and a solid family unit headed by William Thomas Fleming, the family patriarch, better known as DePapa. The extended family includes grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, the good folk at Slades Chapel AME Zion Church, the teachers at Olive Hill school, and all the neighbors up and down the street, some related and some merely claiming to be.

This memoir is layered with good storytelling, good humor, and common sense from people who realize that a good whipping can save your life and hard work builds strong character. Johnny and Ike work diligently from morning until dusk in the relentless North Carolina heat. When they're not working, they're developing an enduring relationship. They address their faults and dream about their futures. They talk about girls and kissing. They eat lots of good food. Sunday dinners, family picnics, and lunch-time feasts feed the boys' bodies and the reader's imagination.

A rousing cheer seems an appropriate response for A Summer Remembered. John Fleming is a successful African American son of the South. His epilogue mentions some of his accomplishments - three college degrees including a doctorate, a career of advancing responsibility, a 30-plus year marriage to his college sweetheart who is an accomplished writer and professional in her own right, and the raising of two daughters. What makes such success possible? The answers live within the pages of this memoir.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends A SUMMER REMEMBERED as a labor of love & a family heirloom, complete with black & white photos. It will be enjoyed by both the young & adult reader, as an atmospheric reminiscence of a sprawling African-American family & its history on both sides of the color bar & slavery -- "The Old African Tamishan" is a marvelous tale; of many aunts, uncles & cousins; of life in a small segregated rural town before TV & computers when children had chores & respect for their elders, women ran families & homes, men worked three jobs & boys fought, cussed & created adventures all the live-long day.

While A SUMMER REMEMBERED is in need of both a family tree diagram (there are so many aunts & uncles) & an editor, it is to be savored with tall tumblers of ice tea in the shade of your porch or front yard tree, when it is time to tell family stories, & remember.

Terri Erickson has managed to weave, then wrap the reader in a percale of purest poetry. And like the finer fabrics, she has woven a breathable art... each square inch of highest content, which touches the reader like a slight whisper... brushing the ear and turning the head. The longer "Thread Count" is held, the closer it is held... smooth, touchable, fragile. Sheets of every color, emotional hue, pastels and earthy tones... continental and worldy. Everything about Ms. Erickson's work is balanced... but leaves you spinning. The cover captivates. The body fits the hand and lap. But don't think it's "light" reading. The content... at times weighted, lands in your heart like a brick through your living room window... a brick she has covered in silk. A read that transports you back in time and space, exiting the now. She has thrown a percale sheet out her window, knotted, making a rope to link you with her world. An absolute must!

Terri Kirby Erickson's first book is rich in metaphors and diverse in subject matter. Her love of language and poetry is evident in each of her spirited and original poems. The poem "Luncheon in Paris" was my favorite and well worth the price of the book. The book is beautiful both inside and out. The cover art is spectacular.

"Thread Count" by Terri Kirby Erickson, is a finely tuned energy force that transcends us to another world. Feel the true flight of poetry, as you are taken over by the imagery invoked in the mastery of her linguistics. Terri's, "Thread Count", has touched many heart's by more than just magical words.
I will always cherish my copy.
I recommend buying more than one to share with family members and friends. If you don't you may be looking for your copy!
TKE, Thank you Repique

Reading Thread Count was a magnificent experience. I found myself drifting back to my childhood and musing over times I myself experienced the same feelings but lacked the wherewithal to give those experiences poetic expressions such as Terri Erickson has done. Thread Count evokes feelings ranging from exhilaration to profound understanding of loss whether it be loss of a person we are close to or simply loss of ones own health status. Other poems in the book have the ability to propel you into a totally different world in another country. I often found myself with misty eyes and at other times laughed out loud at the vivid imagery reading this poetry brought to mind. I would highly recommend reading this book and gifting it to those you care about.

I have been able to laugh/cry and identify with Terri in this collection of her poetry. It transcends both culture and time in common experiences that are often unpsoken, but have remained strong inside us all. I look forward to her next work, in the meantime it is a book i will return to, time and again. I have my favourite poems, and urge you to find yours. Excellent!!