North Carolina Books

What an enlightening perspective on the magnificent joys of trekking in the north woods of the great state of Georgia. I read it nightly to cleanse my soul in preparation for a pleasant night's sleep. My family and I exalt the book and its detailed maps adorn our living room walls. Our most heartfelt appreciation to the man who composed this mighty work.

This packet will be very useful on our journey on the AT. The maps are waterproof and very detailed with shelters, mileage, and altitude. The book itself contains everything we needed to know about each section of the trail and allowed us to choose which sections we deemed most inviting.

Having lived in the county and worked as a community organizer while George was completing his work in Little Laurel, I can vouch for the accuracy and sensitivity of his account. For years I used the original edition in my courses in Appalachian Social institutions and identified it as the single best community study on the Region. Particularly helpful is the chapter on the "ethic of neutrality" which not only provides insight to students and "outsiders" but also to native Appalachians who wish to reflect on their own culture. Glad to see it back in print!

I recently took a trip to Wright Brothers' National Park with my niece and this book was a great addition to our trip. The puzzles gave her something to do on the road besides counting signs. With every page turned, her interest level increased as we got closer to the park. When we got there, she used the scavenger hunt to direct her trip and she actually read the signs that most kids went darting past. This book turned out to be her guide to this important time in history. This book is great for kids (and their families) as they will be turned on to history in a brand new light. Definitely recommended!

this memoir flows easily,telling of kevin's life journey. it is entertaining in nature, but the elemental emotions of life are honestly revealed for reflection .

From 1933 to 1945, the Reich Chamber of Culture exercised a profound influence over hundreds of thousands of German artists and entertainers. Alan Steinweis focuses on the fields of music, theater, and the visual arts in this first major study of Nazi cultural administration, examining a complex pattern of interaction among leading Nazi figures, German cultural functionaries, ordinary artists, and consumers of culture. He gives special attention to Nazi efforts to purge the arts of Jews and other so-called undesirables.

The book purports to provide just that -- an overview of a beautiful city nestled strategically between the Blueridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. The reader gets a glimpse of Asheville's rich heritage -- the down-home hospitality of its downtown and the mystic beauty of its mountains; the folk arts and crafts of its multi-ethnic community and the splendid out-door recreational and tourist attractions offered to its visitors; its numerous cultural resources, including art museums, galleries, live theater, symphonies, as well as a description of its growing economy with its developing communications networks,its manufacturing and technology industries, its business, financial and real estate industries, and its educational and health care centers.

The book will warm the heart of readers who are interested in visiting Asheville on a holiday as well as those considering a move to the area for more reasons than its temperate climate and cultural amenities. Though this work is a typical over-sized coffee-table book, its authors (all residents of Asheville) ably provide a well documented text to complement the outstanding picturesque, colorful photography by Tim Barnell. As a recent retiree having moved to the area after a year of careful research about Asheville, I love this book -- the only one on the topic with fabulous photographs as well as well written supportive textual materials covering a variety of topics. Excellent reading and viewing for someone who might consider moving to Asheville, a city frequently rated as one of the top ten places to retire! It has been just rated #1 in AARP's May-June, 2000 issue of Modern Maturity, for the best small city in the USA which to retire!

This is a fine example of critical history, the result of an investigation below the surface aimed at explanation of how the modern city came to be and where it might be headed. Chase writes, "Because many of my interviews were leading me to wonder about Asheville's future I decided to extend this story as well, to include the hopes and fears of various Asheville activists for the next decade or two and to see how close reality comes." Concerning strained racial relations in the city, Chase doesn't shy from the issue and starts a full chapter on the subject by stating, "Asheville's sorry race relations date from the earliest days of the settlement, with increasingly separate black and white communities waxing and waning over the next two centuries in their tolerance of each other." She goes on to illustrate that racial disparities in wealth and power remain very much present today. In a similar vein, Chase offers a piece of Vanderbilt history that isn't emphasized in Biltmore House guide books. She writes, "A disastrous investment decision around 1901 reportedly left George Vanderbilt in a precarious financial position," and then quotes Biltmore's forester Dr. Carl A. Schenck on the troubles. In his memoir, Schenck wrote, "He had lost, by one single investment, a great part of his inherited fortune. Biltmore House became a white elephant ... the Vanderbilts spent the entire year of 1903 in Europe, evidently with a view to economies." For owners of the largest private home in America, staying home was a more expensive option. Chase offers a refreshing look at a city that is being oversold everywhere and is currently suffering the debilitating effect of that marketeering.

Doris Betts has written a group of stories peopled with all of us. Faced with their own "ordinariness," and their recognition of what they could be if only they knew how to get there from here, Doris Betts' characters charm us and break our hearts. Ms. Betts has done it again; she does it every time. Brava!

I highly recommend this book to any wildflower enthusiasts in the region. A great addition to anyone's reference library.