North Carolina Books

Sandra Gustafson's 2000 book, "Eloquence Is Power," seeks through historical reconstructions of key figures and key moments, to recuperate the dramatic influence of oratory in the formation of America. Complementing and complicating the established American mythos surrounding founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Gustafson explores the dynamic and dialectic of what she terms the 'performance semiotic' and its impact on American culture from its earliest figurations to the present day. Gustafson defines the performance semiotic as the historical interplay between speech and text, which 'performs social conflict,' setting the stage for a broader notion of cultural interplay between racial and gendered identities, and between religious and political sensibilities. Utilizing a broad spectrum of theoretical frameworks, Gustafson incorporates models of gender performativity, critical race studies, and generous historical contexts to situate her reevaluation of American history.

"Eloquence Is Power" cleverly constructs its arguments in the framework of the performance semiotic: each chapter focuses centrally on two, sometimes three key figures at a particular historical moment who enact the struggle for linguistic primacy and social control through, and increasingly, in the mutual involvement of orature and literature. Eschewing the popular teleological view of a cultural progression from `savage' speech to 'civilized' writing, Gustafson claims that not only are the two insistently linked throughout the history of early America, but that each develops with notable contributions from Euro-American, Native American, and African-American, and sources. The central question of the book concerns power relations and their respective derivations. In the religious and political realms that provide consistent loci of cultural tension for Gustafson, inspiration and textual precedent are both at odds and variously incorporated in disputes over who has legitimate authority.

Beginning with the friction between Anglicanism (text-centered) and Puritanism (speech-centered) and their early efforts at conversion of the Native Americans, Gustafson shows how the supposed universality of the prepared text and the supposed appeal to the individual from extempore speech form a paradigmatic conflict that is repeated throughout American history. The following chapters detail the ways in which gendered and racialized modes of access to divine and scriptural authority provisionally threaten, but are tenuously contained by public displays of white male power. Publicly enacted debates over the relevance of feminine piety to religious communities ensue in the interstices of the ongoing performance semiotic between the arenas of speech and text.

In her account of Euro-American encounters with racial others, Gustafson discusses the appropriation of 'savage' performances in the religious conversion of Native and African-American populations. Aspects of these include the gesticular performances, and ritual qualities of both Native and African religious ceremony, manifesting itself as mimicry with a difference in the mobility and adaptability, and even linguistic translations of Euro-American itinerant preachers and missionaries. Of course, the mimicry with a difference is primarily attributed to 'Othered' American subjects, as shown in Gustafson's discussions of the careers of Samson Occom and John Marrant, who incorporate Euro-American evangelical styles hybridized with Native custom to serve and alter the interests of Euro-American Christianity. Gustafson clearly delineates the methods by which colonial authority maintains a cautious relationship toward the potential ascendancy and potential threat posed by the exploited Native, the enslaved African, and the suppressed woman.

Turning to the American revolutionary moment, The mixing of oratorical and textual modes troubles and defies any teleological notion of American national development through the spread of print media alone. The two, for Gustafson, are mutually-sustaining, continually challenging and reinforcing each other. The primacy of the body as semantic vessel returns in the pre-revolutionary period as the Boston Massacre furnishes revolutionary orators, writers, and engravers with an occasion to exercise their eloquence against insupportable English forms of tyrannical control. Deftly, the argument shows how public sentiment in the years following the Boston Massacre and the tradition of annual oratorical remembrances elide the initial identification of racial scapegoats, turning all of the American casualties into martyrs in the struggle for American independence. In the aftermath of independence, Gustafson shows how nothing was cleanly resolved by either the Declaration or the Constitution, as public debate raged in the form of party politics concerning the appropriate form that the new American government should take, as well as in an examination of George Washington's presidency and beyond.

Gustafson's "Eloquence is Power" is a fascinating reassessment of early American history at the intersections of literature and orature. In recuperating the influence of women and ethnic minorities on the formation of the American public sphere, Gustafson offers an inclusive and important study. Professor Gustafson's prose is lucid and devoid of academic jargon, making her arguments easy to understand and follow throughout the book. "Eloquence is Power" is a book that is informative, accessible, and enjoyable.

This is the greatest collection of Duke basketball facts and lore of all time. An unbeatable resource -- a must have for Duke fans.

exhibition and looks at the lives of women from 1750 to 2000. Meet women who were and continue to be instrumental in building America.
Enterprising Women brings to life the stories of family, marriage, motherhood and business savvy success. Marriage was a crucial decision in a woman's life before the 20th century. A woman's choice in marriage ranked with survival, so a divorce could be the demise of a woman's lifestyle and life. Yet, Madam C. J. Walker, Elizabeth Arden and Martha Stewart endured and flourished after divorce while at the helm of their companies. Motherhood was a challenge (and still continues to be a challenge), so a few women remained single as in the case of Katherine Goddard whose business was a family business. Ellen Domoest sold paper dress patterns, Oprah Winfrey has taken self-improvement to billion-dollar success, Lillian Vernon started a catalog at her kitchen table and Maggie L. Walker became the first African American bank president. Enterprising Women is a must-have for every women and her daughter to know where she came from and what each of us are capable of achieving in business and on life's journey.

In Environmental Inequalities, Andrew Hurley traces the dynamics of environmental degradation as experienced by three distinct sectors of society in Gary, Indiana, from 1945 to 1980. Hurley devotes a chapter to each of the particular demographics of three social classes affected by industrial pollution and expansion: white, middle class suburban families, working class whites, largely comprised of ethnic minorities including Serbians, Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Croatians and Poles among others, and finally a large African-American population (over 35,000 African-American between 1920 and 1950) that migrated from the south in search of employment and improved prospects. Each group was affected by industrial waste in a different, though related, way and each took a unique approach to ameliorating problems specific to its particular group.
White middle class activism was largely led by well-educated stay-at-home moms whose primarily concern was preserving their quality of life. Their primary target was containing the spread of industry to their east side neighborhood (Miller) and preventing the spoilage of surrounding natural areas. They focused on extensive research, political lobbying and events (such as picnics) and personal contacts to meet their goals.
White working class families tended to stay close to ethnic neighborhoods and churches which meant that they continued to live in areas heavily affected by air and water pollution. Although the union (specifically the U.S. Steelworkers union) was an important protector of their wages, benefits and job safety and security, the union was not as interested in protecting their environmental conditions, particularly when that protection involved a perceived threat to the industry. Eventually church and worker leadership separate from the union ("labor movement radicals") organized around "ethnic power" in reaction to the civil rights movement to address issues "of immediate concern, ranging from garbage collection to taxes" (p. 105). Unlike, the white middle class population, workers' efforts were tempered by the concern over keeping their jobs.
African-Americans, after decades of employment in the most dangerous and low-paying sectors of U.S. Steel's factory, finally were able to rally around an African-American candidate for mayor, Richard Hatcher, who was able to make some gains notably in the area of housing by securing a $13 million federal grant. Though pollution was not at the top of Hatcher's priorities, over his 20 year tenure as mayor, he eventually became an important component of the coalition that addressed the appalling conditions, both for workers and residents, around the coke plant.
A particularly remarkable effort documented by Hurley, is the concerted effort involving all three of the demographic groups discussed in his book. In 1970, these groups were able to find a common ground of concern and combine their efforts to force U.S. Steel to rebuild coke oven doors and to decrease emissions through improved maintenance and by observing longer coking periods. This was significant not only because the groups worked together but also because for probably the first time, citizens did not defer to what U.S. Steel told them was technically feasible but demanded improvements based on their own research. The unique circumstances that led to this victory included the strength and visibility of the national environmental movement led by Ralph Nadar, a healthy economy (and job stability for working class whites and blacks), and greater interest at the national level as evidenced by increased funding for federal water and air pollution control agencies.
A well-written analysis and important slice of environmental history in the U.S. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the effects of pollution as experienced by different groups of people.

For anyone who is interested in the impact of outside social influences on the way writers write, this is a must read. This book is thoughtful, provocative, and interesting, with enough scholarly insight for the expert and lively and engaging commentary for the lay reader.

My mother gave the book to me as a gift as it is about my hometown of Granite Falls, North Carolina. The book presents a lot of early history of the town, much of it I didn't know about when I lived there. There are a lot of interesting tidbits about a lot of the families there, past and present. It is written in the style of most Heritage books. If you have ancestors from this town, it would be very helpful with genealogy research.

I 'found' this book while browsing in the public library, waiting for my kids as they participated in the summer reading program. Living in NC, the subtitle, 'A Novel of Passion and Mystery in the Blue Ridge' caught my eye. This was a great book. Too bad it's not easy to find as you don't have to live in NC to appreciate and enjoy it. EVE'S MOUNTAIN is about a mountain owned by a wealthy businessman who has promised to keep the place as is, in memory of his wife who went missing there one summer many years before. Now the owner is there trying to recover from a stroke, bringing family members and others who all seem to be trying to escape from something. The mystery of Eve's Mountain eventually involves them all, for better or for worse. Once I got into who was who and what was what, this is one I couldn't put down.

I ordered this book because I know the author, and knew that it would be helpful for churches who are seeking to become open to persons regardless of their sexual orientation. To be frank I have not yet read the book, but knowing the author and his experience with the subject, I am sure it will be very useful.

When my colleagues and I planned the conference upon which this book was based, we wanted to make sure we would come to understand why Hurricane Floyd wreaked such devastation upon Eastern North Carolina in September of 1999 so we could better inform the public as to the causes and remedies. What we found was that many of the disastrous consequences could have been avoided. A series of freakish natural events, combined with thousands of political and individual property development decisions over a 50 year period, converted Eastern NC into a giant bathtub with many of its key drains clogged. Some have described the flooding that occured as "Biblical" in nature. And it can happen again unless community leaders show the courage to make the necessary modest and reasonable changes to their respective communities. This is a book from which scientists, politicians, agency personnel and the general public all can benefit. It is based on research in the physical, environmental, and social sciences as well as "on the ground" experiences. All net proceeds go to projects for improving our understanding of the impacts of hurricanes.

Cabarrus County in south central North Carolina was formed in 1792 from Mecklenburg County and is today situated between Mecklenburg and Rowan counties. Mrs. Marler's new work on Cabarrus County is the first effort we know of to systematically present information on all families in that county from its inception until the end of the War of 1812. The author extracted her findings from the 1790 Mecklenburg County census, the 1800 Cabarrus census, court records, Mecklenburg county deed records, marriage records, wills, and newspaper obituaries. She has arranged the families alphabetically according to the surname of the head of each household, incorporating all available data and its source in an outline format. Whenever possible, Mrs. Marler embellishes the limited content from these early censuses with information such as the name(s) of neighboring families, persons who bought/sold land to the principal householder, details of a marriage, and so forth. In all, the volume identifies 2,000 early families in Cabarrus County and perhaps five times as many persons overall. Can there be any doubt that Families of Cabarrus County, North Carolina must be reckoned as the new starting point for research in this early North Carolina county?