North Carolina Books

This is a good guide to some of the best rides on the east coast. The trail information is detailed and is very helpful in locating obscure trails. Many of the trails can be found on singletracks.com as well (although at a much lower level of detail).

Great format. Complete ride description and map can be copied onto a regular size sheet of paper for use while riding.

Good selection of rides.

Trail ratings and topos helpful in planning.

Civil War addicts have always had one big gap in knowledge. That's expecially true for those of us from the South.

What happened to Sherman after he burned Columbia? He shows up a few weeks later with his men marching up Pennsylvania Avenue as the Grand Army of the Republic celebrates the victory of the Union, but what happened to him and his men after they left South Carolina's capitol?

Finally, the mystery is solved. Jim Wise, historian and newspaperman from North Carolina's Triangle Area is the sleuth who has ferretted out the truth. ON SHERMAN'S TRAIL is the answer. He opens up this hidden period of our history with a clear, direct, description of the weeks as the big war wound down. Skirmishes, pitched battles, marches through swamps and fields of North Carolina are laid out as the desperate troops of the South tried to block the massive army that had conquered Tennessee and Georgia, sweeping all before it up to the center of South Carolina. Grim fighting. Deadly. Incessant. Some brilliant efforts. Some hopeless stands. Jim tells the whole story down to the last gasps in the outskirts of Durham, N.C., where he lives.

Jim Wise tells the story, but there's an extra I can't wait to test -- he connects all the places and events to the geography of today. The book can be used as a traveller's guide to the back roads of North Carolina -- roads, villages, and cities that Jim knows like the back of his hand. One can take this book and follow what Sherman's men did. See where he forded the creeks or got stuck in the swamps. Visit the cross-roads and farms he marched by and fought over.

The BIG story is just beyond this one. The story about Lee's effort, ended at Appomatox, to break through and join Johnson for a renewed struggle. We KNOW THAT story -- but this is the critical piece that's been missing.

Thanks to Jim Wise for giving us this lost chapter of the story.

Loren B. Mead

Most of us have stood in some little spot - maybe just a crossroads or a church - and studied a marker commemorating that place. We think about it for a bit and move on. Over time, we accumulate memories of a dot here, a dot there, each worthy in its own right, but forming at best only a vague shape, at worst no shape at all.

Jim Wise connects the dots to reveal for us the full picture of William Tecumseh Sherman's trail through North Carolina. I suspect that even Civil War buffs will whisper "Well, I'll be doggoned" to themselves. The rest of us can say it out loud.

The only problem I have with the book is where to keep it: on the bookshelf or in the glove compartment. I suggest the latter. Mr. Wise has skillfully blended history in with a travelogue. He takes us from interstates through back roads and even along dirt roads when necessary, giving precise driving instructions. At each stop he tells us what we are looking at, and how that place, whether humble or significant, fits into the grand scheme of things. As the outline forms, he oftimes puts shading inside the spaces by using anecdotes and letters and other correspondence (plus lots of pictures) to take us back in time.

The author's droll wit keeps him mindful of situations that a portentous historian might be inclined to let slide: go with Mr. Wise along a dirt road to the small hexagonal brick meeting place of the Richmond Temperance and Literary society. There, on the ceiling, a gold star was painted for each member. The star was painted silver for those deceased. If a member fell off the wagon, his star was painted black. Some stars have been repainted... several times.

What you might want to do is start out lazy, like me, and kick back with an easy, pleasant read as you ride along Sherman's Trail without leaving your chair. Then put the book in the glove compartment. You never know.

Full disclosure: Stephen Ausband is my cousin. Having said that, I give you my objective assurance that this book is a small masterpiece.

Outdoors Year Round is in the literary tradition of Izaak Walton and Thoreau, and in spite of its brevity and its stated quotidian purpose, compares favorably to the modern masters of writing about the outdoors - Stegner, McPhee, Peter Matthiessen, Norman Maclean. According to the Introduction, Outdoors Year Round is "for people who need to get outside during every month." That's true: Outdoors Year Round is a practical guidebook of the kind that hunters and anglers along coastal Virginia and North Carolina might carry in the glove compartment or the tackle box. But it's a great deal more, too. Ausband is an altogether accomplished writer, and his setting - the maritime forests and wetlands of the mid-Atlantic U.S. - remains one of the most beautiful and diverse expanses of temperate coastline in the world. The book covers the year in twelve chapters, "January" through "December." Into the local, topical month-by-month where-when-and-how, he has woven closely observed vignettes about hunting and fishing, and a series of moving and humane reflections on the relationship between the natural world and nature-loving hunters and anglers.

In particular, I want to recommend Outdoors Year Round to people who dislike or disapprove of hunting and fishing. The purpose of the book is not at all to address such concerns, and I don't necessarily think that reading this book will change anyone's mind; but I do think people who blanch at the idea of hunting or fishing will find it instructive to consider the love of nature that informs Ausband's text, and the active stewardship of wildlife and habitat practiced by the men and women who populate the pages of his book - the hunting and fishing guides, the proprietors of the bait shops and hunting lodges, and the hunters and anglers themselves.

Dr. Stephen Ausband, a professor at Averett University, is an avid outdoors man who has written a book on
fishing and hunting in costal Virginia and North Carolina. I found the book to informative, entertaining and easy
to read.

Hard to easily categorize but North Carolina residents will find this a compelling cultural account. Marimar McNaughton's Outer Banks Architecture provides a survey of North Carolina's outer banks region, examining the architectural heritage of cottages, lodges, and other structures. Black and white photos of selected structures are accompanied by descriptions, architectural notes, and history.

Marimar McNaughton's Outer Banks Architecture: An Anthology Of Outposts, Lodges And Cottages is a compendium of facts, anecdotes and photos showcasing the North Carolina Outer Banks' architectural history and styles that range from simple cottages to elaborate custom built homes and striking commercial buildings to lodges, light houses, life saving stations, and community structures. Outer Banks Architecture is a superb regional architectural study and a valued contribution to the growing literature of American architectural history and accomplishment.

Brought the 60s back to me. Vendor did excellent job. Honest appraisal of the book's condition. Shipped right away.

I heard about Jon Daniels for the first time recently on NPR and was immediately interested. As a cradle Episcopalian and the mother of a bi-racial daughter, I wanted to know more about him. I found this book and was profoundly moved by his faith and call to Alabama. This book told me more about the Episcopal church's involvement in the civil rights movement than I had ever known before. I shall now remember him every August 14th, the day of his arrest and when he is remembered by the Episcopal Church is Lesser Feast and Fasts.

I've cussed the inaccuracies in this book more times than is printable. Benner claims to have canoed every single foot of every single river listed in the book, but it's pretty obvious by the listing of some very glaring errors that he hasn't.Stll, if you intend to canoe or kayak eastern NC flatwater rivers, you'll need this book. It is 95%-98% accurate, but those 2%-5% errors are doozies. Use it as I think it was intended, as a guide, not as gospel, and you'll be okay.My copy has long been my canoeing logbook, too. After every trip, I sit down with my canoeing partner of that trip and fill the book with notes of interesting things seen and make corrections of errors listed in the book, writing in the book itself. That way, when I do another trip with another bowman, I don't have to depend on memory to highlight important things to come about the given flatwater NC river.

Just the value of the listings of put-in's and take-out's exceed the price of the book. All the distances and many help facts are bonus. Anyone paddling Eastern NC would be foolish not to own this book.

The Stroessner era, as much as most of the 20th century Paraguayan history, has been highly distorted. As a consequence, over two generations of Paraguayans lacked of real information on General Stroessner regime and on those that preceded the General's one. I was born under Stroessner and was almost 18 years old when he was overthrown. I remember being taught in high school the accomplishments of General Stroessner, how good he was and what a peaceful Paraguay had become thanks to his effectiveness and infallibility as a leader. I still remember seeing, as a child, enormous plaques hanged all over the country reading "Stroessner, peace and progress". I don't remember, though, being told the high price the country and its inhabitants had to pay for living in Stroessner`s peace or knowing real facts about his government.

Undoubtedly, Professor Lewis with this magnificent book helps fill out the gap I was referring to. Also he contributes to show us Paraguayans, from a very objective perspective, the reversal of the reality we've been taught and that was far from accurate. Even though this book was finished long before the Stroessner regime ended, it is one of the best analyses ever written on this period of the Paraguayan history.

Paul Lewis wrote this book in 1980, almost a decade before Stroessner was overthrown after 35 years of rule, the longest in the Western Hemisphere and fourth longest in the world. Lewis devotes a large portion of the book to the history of Paraguay, which is fascinating, and he also explains the politics in Paraguay and how dictatorships have ruled the country almost since independence, continuing on to an explanation as to how Gen. Alfredo Stroessner took over in 1954, and has held power through 1980. Paul Lewis also writes about the transformation of the Paraguayan economy, and how surprisingly there was economic improvement due to the conservative policies of Stroessner, and heavy foreign aid. He also explains Paraguayan culture, and why the country is still heavily isolated from the rest of the world.

This is the only book to explain Stroessner's Paraguay in detail. It is unfortunate, because Stroessner is still one of the few major world leaders without a biography. I would like to see Professor Lewis do a follow up on his fine book, perhaps a full biography of the man who shaped Paraguay for over three decades. Nevertheless, Paraguay Under Stroessner is a excellent and exhaustively researched book, and should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in Paraguayan history.

I began reading 'Partial to Home' in an attempt to gain some background info on Timberlake for a press release about the upcoming exhibit of his work here at the App. Cultural Museum. I found that, unlike some autobiographies, it was hard to put down. Every aspect of Timberlake's life (his family, his upbringing, his ancestors, his artwork) was remarkably intriguing, and you really feel as though you come to know the man behind the "empire" that has evolved from his passionate love of painting. The situations and people encountered along his way, along with his keen ability to express his feelings for each, create an account of his life that will linger with me for quite some time. It leaves you with a comfortable, warm feeling of loving (and keeping in touch with) those around you and the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing your dreams.

This is an extremely readable book about the popular artist, Bob Timberlake. If you are from North Carolina, you will recognize many of the locations he and Jerry Bledsoe write about. If you are not from NC, you are welcome to "set a spell" and watch a boy grow up in a small-town world not unlike Mayberry (yes, there were really towns like that in NC). Surprisingly, Bob was not born with a paintbrush in his hand: this is something he happened into as an adult. Many of the seemingly simple events of his life converged to make him the artist he is today. You will learn what makes Bob Timberlake stand out from the pack and the values that keep him grounded.

The southern states east of the Mississippi were in a territory that was for a long time under Spanish or Indian jurisdiction. By law, only persons issued passports were allowed to enter the southeastern territories, and so the passport records have the largest body of data relating to the pioneers to the Southeastern United States.

Dorothy W. Potter spent eight years doing research in the records of the War Department, the State Department, the archives of the individual states, as well as records of the Spanish and the British in West Florida. So she has assembled a complete collection of the passports and travel documents issued to individuals and families going to the Mississippi Valley area from Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Never again can genealogists complain that research in the Old South is hampered by lack of a comprehensive source book, for in this one outstanding reference work there is now a huge and invaluable body of source material at their disposal. No wonder this book was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Tennessee Historical Commission!

"...This is one of the finest reference books we have ever seen."--Winston De Ville, Alexandria (LA) Daily Town Talk

"...Mrs. Potter has made a major contribution to genealogical research in the southern states."--Charles F. Bryan, Jr., Tennessee Historical Quarterly

"May I take a moment of your time to tell you how impressed I am with your Passports of Southeastern Pioneers. It is a model work of genealogical scholarship...."--Letter to the author from Elizabeth Shown Mills

This book was well writing, with many unknown facts on the movement of American families caming to the Southern states. It is a shame that it is out of print.

I loved the Pattern. It was a sweet book about a young girl who falls in love with a man who is a doctor. Her parents dont approve but let her marry him anyway. The whole story is about never giving up and always trusting God.

If you are a romantic you will love this book, I couldn't put it down!