North Carolina Books

In 1934, in the piedmont area of North Carolina, Cammie is turning ten. Looking forward to celebrating her first decade of living, she asks her parents for a hotdog roasting party. The whole family shows up, complete with both sets of Cammie's grandparents, her aunts, uncles and cousin Ben and her best friend Jessica. But the party isn't the focal point of the book. Growing up in the depression, crafting playthings, inventing games, and even being a bunny in the school play are all part of Cammie's life.

Cammie's stories are told in a friendly, easygoing way, which will be a joy to children to read. Every chapter shows this spunky, kind-hearted girl being creative and caring and enjoying life. From taking care of her little brother by playing every game she can think of to being the game master at her family's reunion, it is clear that Cammie knows how to entertain herself and others.

It is a simpler life than today's children are used to and the stories bring an air of innocence to the reader from those days gone by. Elizabeth McMahan has once again carried me back in time to more close-knit families, honest hard work, putting up stores for winter and the enjoyment of a hayride. "Cammie Turns Ten" stands alone, or could be read as the first, second or third in the Cammie series. In any event, readers aged 9 -12 will adore the books and if parents are allowed to share them it will bring back memories of their own childhood.

Review by Heather Froeschl of BookReview.com

Colorfully depicting a year in the life of a country girl growing up in the 1930's, Cammie: A Girl For All Seasons is a delightful read for all ages. There is something special about growing up on a farm and reading about 10 year old Cammie's adventures is something special in itself.

Follow Cammie through a year of ups and downs, trials and triumphs, smiles and sighs. Her life is full of lessons including being mindful of chicken hawks, bullies dressed as hobos and the dangers of hay forks. There are joyful stories of babysitting moments, adventures in the woods, and bug zoo success. Lessons are shared in making friends with roosters, being a friend to those in need and having a friendly day spent with a city cousin.

The bond of family is clearly demonstrated through out the book and seemingly simple country values are shared and exhibited. Parents will enjoy the positive role model that Cammie is and readers ages 9 and up will love the stories of a simpler time and place and a girl that they can relate to.

The author is gifted in descriptive writing and brings the world of a southern rural community to life. Look for more from Elizabeth A. McMahan in the future.

Review by Heather Froeschl of BookReview.com

Cape Hatteras: America's Lighthouse is a treasure to all of us who love what is arguably the most famous lighthouse in the world. The authors should be commended for writing not only a fascinating look into the past and future of this great beacon, but also a damn fine tale of passion, perseverance, intrigue, romance, grand schemes, utter calamities, and vast heroism.

This is an important bit of American history but it is not a dry text. This book is a real page-turner, one that will illuminate your mind as surely as the Hatteras lighthouse on a frightening, dark sea. Like the mariners which once depended on the light to skirt a dangerous coast, after you finish reading this book, you will be grateful for the experience.

My mother owned a paperback edition of this story many years ago. Yellow, and dog-eared, I must have read it a half dozen times until it finally disintegrated when the binding glue dried out.

Simply described, Carolina Corsair is a novel describing the events surrounding the infamous pirate Edward Teach, a.k.a., Blackbeard. Part romance novel, part history, and all adventure, Mr. Tracy spins a definate swashbuckler of a yarn!

Long out of print; if you find a copy, treat it with due respect, as it is well worth the investment in terms of entertainment!

Out of print cookbook by hometown ladies...my daughters and I have long since moved out of the area where this was written. Thanks to Amazon, I was able to surprise my oldest daughter for her birthday. She has always loved the recipes, and seeing the names of her friends' moms in print has brought back lots of fond memories!

THANKS!

Tom Fowler's Carolina Journeys: Exploring The Trails Of The Carolinas Both Real And Imagined is an engaging and rather unique compilation of commentaries on locations and landmarks of the Carolinas as observed by a Carolina expert with years of little-known knowledge enhancing the book as a greater map of the Carolinas then any other standard travel guide. Carolina Journeys informs the reader of such occurrences and places as the tales of Tom Dooley, Hernando de Soto, the shad fish, the Great Indian Trading Path, and grand old trees and rock carvings that still dot the Carolina landscape. Carolina Journeys is very strongly recommended to all visitors, residents, natives and aspiring visitors of the Carolina area, as it is a fun and eclectic collection of Carolinas' most intriguing stories and locations. If you are traveling the Carolina's for fun or business, don't leave home without your own personal copy of Carolina Journeys!

While compiling a listing of North Carolina wineries, I stumbled across Pamela Watson's book in a local library. With the wealth of history on grapes and winemaking in the Tarheel State, I bought an autographed copy for my personal library. I found it perfect for the day tripper, as this paperback fits nicely in a picnic basket or the door map pocket of my van. Extensive interviews with winery owners, lots of history, precise driving directions, wine listings, food pairings, and other sites of interest near each winery (including chambers of commerce, lodging information, and recommendations for local eateries). Well researched and complete for both North and South Carolina and their burgeoning wine industry. Contains telephone numbers, web sites (if available), and suggested winery groupings for day tours. Would that all winery guides be this complete!

"... Porgy was quite as stout as Sancho - a shade stouter perhaps, as his own height was not inconsiderable, yet showed him corpulent still. At a glance you saw he was a jovial philosopher - one who enjoyed his bottle with his humours, and did not suffer the one to be soured by the other. It was clear that he loved all the good things of this life, ans some possibly that we may not call good with sufficient reason. His abdomen and brain seemed to work together. He thought of eating perpetually and while he ate, still thought. But he was not a mere eater. He rather amused himself with a hobby when he made food his topic, as Falstaff dicoursed of his own cowardice without feeling it. He was a wag, and exercised his wit with whomsoever he travelled." Thus did William Gilmore Simms describe Porgy, certainly his most interesting and noteworthy creation....

Unfortunately, Porgy's exploits have been buried in six large novels, all but one of which are out of print. Now Mr. Hetherington has done for Porgy what Allan Nevis did in The Leatherstocking Saga for Cooper's Natty Bumppo. He has extracted the Porgy portions from the novels and set them in chronological sequence of the events they describe. All of the passages depicting or concerning Porgy are given in toto, with the exception of those in Woodcraft, which is currently available. Only the best Woodcraft passages are given complete; the remaining ones are summarized. Mr. Hetherington has also provided as illuminative introduction and transitions between episodes. The reader can therefore become acquainted with the fabulous Porgy and yet avoid the rather formidable task of getting through the six sometimes prolix novels.
--- excerpts from books dustjacket

Although I haven't read all of this book, the contribution of Robert Krick, entitled "The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy" is such that it alone, at least to me, makes this an invalualbe book for students of both Jackson and Chancellorsville. For anyone who has been fascinated with the precise reconstruction of a historical event taking place at a defined place, Krick's writing will prove fascinating. No biography of Jackson that I have encountered, even Robertson's, provides as much detail on the circumstances surrounding this tragic occurence. As he points out and is generally known, the monument at Chancellorsville which purports to mark the spot where Jackson was shot on that May, 1863 moonless night is incorreclty placed. Read and take this book with you when visiting the area as the map included will prove of great help.

Dr. McLaughlin presents a wonderfully constructed portrait of the modern woman. As we are launched into the information age, the role of women throughout society is going to change dramatically. McLaughlin captures the beginning of this wonderful change. This is a book I will keep on my shelves for years and years.