North Carolina Books

Written accounts of solitary wilderness living show up every once in a while, and seem to have become especially popular after the Baby Boomers "discovered" Thoreau in the 1960s. His words still inspire a few folks to chuck their lives of quiet desperation and head for the hills to get away from it all. Some are successful, some are not. Many stay there only a year or two before the most pressing need -- the financial one -- forces them to return to civilization.

That's not the case with Thomas Rain Crowe, who spent four years (1978-1982) living alone in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. Crowe went back to his home state after living in a variety of places, doing a variety of work, communing with a variety of people. When given the opportunity to be the cabin tenant, he made the most of it. He worked hard to be self-sufficient, growing his own food and tending to his home and his tools. Others might have been bored in such a setting, but not him. He was always busy: gardening, fishing, taking care of his beehives, making homebrew, digging his root cellar, taking notes on the experience. And he regained the use of one his most valuable resources, the Southern Mountain speech of his childhood. He was downright satisfied with the situation.

His mentors in this effort were several local men who offered advice from time to time: Zoro Guice appeared in Yoda-like fashion whenever Crowe needed to learn how to perform a certain task. Walt Johnson was the scamp of the neighborhood, but was also an accomplished dowser who could find water every time. From these and other natives Crowe learned how to live close to the land, to live in the time of the seasons. The reader senses that Crowe would be living there still, if civilization hadn't encroached upon the property and changed it forever. That's when he knew he had to leave.

Not just a doer, Crowe is also a viewer -- a writer, a poet, a spiritual man who feels a strong connection to the natural world. His poetry uses simple words and turns of phrase to evoke powerful images. On the other hand, his prose, the narrative of his story, is the work of a learned and literate man. Complex constructs entice the reader to keep on going, to chew on the concepts and experiences offered. It takes time to digest these lines, and it's time well spent. Having witnessed Thomas Rain Crowe read some of this book aloud in person, I have the benefit of having heard the hint of the Smokies in his voice, the love for the place evident in every well-spoken syllable. No matter; it comes through in the typewritten text as well.

So was Thomas Wolfe right or wrong? Can you or can't you go home again? The reader decides. In the meantime, "Zoro's Field" should be placed on a shelf with the works of the old and new naturalists (Thoreau, Burroughs, Leopold, Carson, Eiseley, Bass) to one side, and the "Foxfire" books to the other. A thought-provoking addition to the environmental canon.

The local legend and mountain sage of the Appalachians of western North Carolina Zoro Guice told the author, "If a man goes out in the woods and just sits down in one place for long enough, all of nature and everything he needs to know will eventually pass before him like a parade." And so Crowe--poet, publisher, and recording artist--took up residence in the Appalachians for four years, and writes about the "parade." As in Thoreau's "Walden," Crowe writes about how he subsisted in the wild and what he learned from this. But moving somewhat beyond "Walden" in content and form, Crowe writes more about what goes on beyond himself; and some passages are in the form of verse. Not so meticulous or contained as "Walden," "Zoro's Field" reflects on modernity's effects on the tie with nature, environmental concerns, and changes which have come to the area. Though different in ways from Thoreau's classic which it cannot help but be compared with, Crowe's work in this same genre holds its own as an engaging, thought-inducing memoir.

More than a modern Walden, this is a book about intentional living. Crowe returns to home land in the southern mountains of North Carolina after living in Europe and northern California. Guided by principles of the Beat poets and philosophers, he embraces the traditions of sustenance, growing his own food, tending bees (honey for trade), making wine and beer. From his cabin beside the Green River gorge, he explores both terrain and history in celebration of a way of life that has been largely lost. The book is elegant and poetic. Crowe writes with an easy style, but critical intellect.

I really liked this book (and the series of 100 Classic Hikes). I live in Illinois, but do a lot of hiking in Colorado and these books are very helpful in getting you to the location and then describing the hike. I have yet to be disappointed by one of the hikes described in these books.

We visited Asheville, NC in the Summer of 2008 and absolutely loved it. I have posted more information on a few hikes in North Carolina and Colorado on my climbing/hiking website at www.MountainInsider.com

Scott Skinger
MountainInsider-dot-com

Joe Miller has first-hand experience with hiking and biking. Joe takes you on an adventure you haven't ever experienced before! Take at least one of the trails and see how accurate Joe has described the hike. Excellent book!

The 4th North Carolina Cavalry in the Civil War is a detailed, specific history grounded heavily on primary sources, including official records, letters, diaries, and personal recollections of Civil War soldiers. In 1862, the Partisan Ranger Act induced North Carolina leaders to recruit companies of irregular soldiers for Confederate Army service; seven of these companies were merged into the regiment of the 4th North Carolina Cavalry, a medley of urban and rural dwellers alike across fifteen counties. Chapters recount the major engagements of the 4th North Carolina Cavalry, including skirmishes along the Blackwater, The Battle of Whitehall, and Gettysburg, but well over half of The 4th North Carolina Cavalry in the Civil War is devoted to an extensive person-by-person roster of individuals, each with a short paragraph delineating what historical records say happened to him. (One such entry is "Pugh, George A.: Private - Enlisted in Co. D on 5/10/1864 in Perquimans Co., NC; present or accounted for on muster rolls through October 1864.") Black-and-white photographs, notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this in-depth supplement to Civil War reference shelves.

A very well documented story-from a writer who obviously knows and loves his craft. I think we will hear much from Mr. Raiford in the years to come.

I am a stay at home who works nights for AAA so I'm kept pretty busy 24/7. This book helped me enhance my creativity and helped me to encourage my daughter's desire to learn. She now is 20 months old, counts to 10 on her own, sings the whole twinkle,twinkle little star song (missing a word here and there) and is starting to really grasp letters. She can sing up to the letter D. Not that the only reason is this book but it gave me some really great ideas to help her along. Some are very common knowledge but many are not. I am so glad I came across this and am about to go onto the twos book. I can't wait. By the way it's not all about work it's really a lot of fun as well.

I found this book to have a lot of great ideas to do with toddlers

I use this book on a regular basis to help with ideas for activities for my preschooler. It is so well organized with great ideas and easy activities. I have a stack of preschooler idea books at home and this is the one that gets the biggest workout! I plan to buy the next one in the series, too.

This is a popular one at the center that I contract out of for family child care. It's a worthwhile book. It's a great series. I like knowing that the activities are specifically catered to an age group. It helps with family child care and daycare, too.

Very interesting short story. Great for my lady mail route carrier. She loved it.

This is a wonderful book. It is the story of Addie Clawson, who became the first female mail carrier in this rural area.
It tells of the struggles with the rugged winters and the doubts of many of the people who thought that a women just could not handle this type of a job. After having gone to school at Appalachian State University and traveled this area on my job I can attest to the rugged conditions. The book is written for children (grades 4-5) but adults will enjoy this book too.

A complete revision of this popular best-seller that covers Beaufort, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Savannah, the Sea Islands, Hilton Head, Brunswick and the Golden Isles, Okefenokee Swamp, the Outer Banks, Charleston, Cape Hatteras and all the places in-between.

A complete revision of this popular best-seller that covers Beaufort, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Savannah, the Sea Islands, Hilton Head, Brunswick and the Golden Isles, Okefenokee Swamp, the Outer Banks, Charleston, Cape Hatteras and all the places in-between.

The continuing story of the Cherokees after their arrival in present day Oklahoma. A story of the conflicts both within and outside of the Cherokee Nation. The story of how the Cherokees battled to maintain their sovereignty and ultimately failed. Meticulously researched by McLoughlin through primary sources, an excellent history for anyone interested in Native American or Cherokee history. An typical example of what happened to all tribes in America.

This book, as far as I know, is the only one that explores the fascinating history of the Cherokees after they reached Oklohoma. We all know of the 'trail of tears' where the cherokees were removed from Georgia and forced to march to Oklohoma. This book tells the great story of their attempts ot civilize the land. How they built homes how they bought slaves and how they fought with neighbooring indians(who looked like savages to the new americanized Cherokee). The Cherokees fought in the civil war and even fought civil wars among themselves. This book details the hatred of the pure blood cherokees for their brethen who seemed more white and scottish then the others. The cherokee nation then was oborbed into the state of oklohoma when the Indian territory was aboloshed. This is an extraordinary tail of a hitherto unknown american story about one of americas most talked about, but seldom understood and studied, indian tribes, the noble civilized cultured Cherokee(who so many people claim to be descended from that a modern Indian joke goes "what do you get when you have 40 Cherokees in one room? One full blooded Indian").

Kevin Dwyer's "Ireland - Our Island Home" highlights that island's heritage with a stunning collection of aerial photographs around Ireland's coastline. The images, shot from helicopters and small planes at low altitude and oblique angles, provide beautiful, detailed panoramas. The contrasting scenary ranges from the urban areas around Dublin and Cork to the wilds of West Ireland. A series of captions and miniature maps describe the subjects and the general locations where the photographs were taken.

The photographs are a reminder of how varied the Irish landscape can be, and how beautifully green it looks from the air (and from the ground). Lighthouses, farm fields, sheep pastures, and small villages mingle with old forts and modern port facilities. This book is highly recommended to those who have been to Ireland, and to those who plan to go. The book provides a unique perspective on a lovely country.

We went to Ireland and picked up this book while we were there. I was afraid that it would be cheaper in the U.S. -- we paid 30 euros -- and it was. Still, we have no buyer's regret.

This is a set of stunning aerial shots of the Irish coastline. While we took what we think are very good pictures, these are beautiful pictures that we cannot duplicate because they are aerial. They will be treasured reminders of many of the places that we visited.

If you're going to Ireland, been to Ireland, or just wish that you could go, and you love to hang out in coastal areas, this is a book for you.

There have been several prominent books and journal articles on Japan's postwar economic success (my personal favorite is The Misunderstood Miracle: Industrial Development and Political Change in Japan (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)). However, understanding the true nature of this flourishing is a somewhat different matter. While Friedman addresses the ECONOMIC aspects, Fosberg ably addresses the political and diplomatic aspects.

Prior to the War, Japan had been a major industrial power, and while a stupendous amount of plant and materiel had been physically destroyed by Allied bombing, it was clear that Japan possessed the trained personnel and deepened industrial institutions to recover. What was not clear, however, was if the US political establishment had the will or vision to help out.

Political establishments are heterogenous things, with complicated networks of competing and colluding interests; and while this is something so obvious it ought to be vapid, it's a point usually overlooked by ideologically zealous historians. For those interested in a serious, well-documented treatment of how the network of myriad US interests coalesced towards a strategy of helping Japan develop, and then integrate into the US economic sphere, this is a good beginning.

Students of economics will possibly be perturbed because Forsberg does not strictly adhere to neoliberal economic orthodoxy. This book tends towards neutrality on controversial issues in development economics, and rather, deals with what actors expected to happen as a result of the policies they pursued. So, for example, for much of the period covered the US Congress wavered between accommodating Japanese home markets protection (for the purpose of defeating Communism in the region) and demanding that the Japanese authorities open their market to US goods. An orthodox economist might object that protecting domestic markets was a stupid "payout" for either Japanese or US constituencies generally, but the point is that in 1950 very few political actors anywhere thought such things.

In general, the account tends to be fairly favorable to the US polity in terms of "generosity" (in this case, willingness to sacrifice short-term regional preferences for long-term success in the project of Japanese development), and emphasizes the success of Japanese industry interests in protecting specific markets. At the same time, the difficulty of getting the US polity to support Japanese economic recovery is not ignored. The terms of the bilateral agreements with Japan were sometimes one-sided, allowing the USA bases without commitments to actually defend Japan. Partly this was an ugly byproduct of the fact that Japan had become a US client by virtue of defeat in a war; but it also reflected internal divsions in the Japanese polity over the relationship with the USA.

In any respects, the book is an outstanding companion to the above-mentioned Friedman book on the economics of Japan's development. While Friedman emphasizes the overlooked entreprenuerial aspect, Forsberg explains the institutional and diplomatic aspect that actually prevailed. Readers of varing ideological or economic dogmas may draw their own conclusions based on what actually followed.

in my world history class i was doing a project on the japanese economic miracle after world war ii. this was the main source of information i used. i thought that this book was full of information involving the japanese and their sturggle to gain economic success. this book also taught me a lot about how the americans felt about the japanese. although in war they were enemies, after the war, since the US occupied Japan, due to their help, the japanese were able to get the success they wanted. if you are working on a project or just want to know about the japanese economic miracle, then i strongly suggest this book.