• Local / Regional
• Coastal Heritage
• North Carolina Heritage

• Food and Cookbooks
• Nature
• Youth

Who’s Hugh? Well he’s a patriot with a long career of public service, who wasn’t afraid to do what needed done to achieve a higher level. He was the young man who joined the Coast Guard and survived his ship being torpedoed in the frigid waters of the north Atlantic. He witnessed the horrors firsthand of the Coconut Grove fire in Boston. He busted up moonshine stills as a young sheriff in Carteret County, later becoming County Commissioner, friend of Governors and Senators, and the Head of the State Ferry Division. And if all this is not enough, he was Appointed United States Marshall for Eastern North Carolina, and was the only person in the nation to take procession of a WW II Battleship. If you want to know more, you’ll have to read the book.

“Garrity-Blake and West enter the complex, stultifying world of east coast fish politics and bring us back a captivating narrative….." Leslie Leylands Fields, author of The Entangling Net and Surviving the Island Grace

In the past two decades, tourists discovered this “unique fishing village by the sea,” and the tiny island was forever altered. Alton Ballance, growing up on the island in the 60’s and 70’s when the year round population hovered around 500, has set out to capture the story of Ocracoke and its people from the unique perspective of a native.

As many visitors to Ocracoke will attest, the island’s vibrant dialect is one of its most distinctive cultural features. “Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks” is more than a linguistic study. By tracing the history of the island speech, the authors succeed in opening a window into the history of the islanders themselves. A glossary and quiz to enhance the reader’s knowledge are included.

Images of America: Outer Banks, John Hairr, Arcadia Publishing, 128 pgs, $18.99, paper

Outer Banks, with over 180 images, many seen here for the first time, is a fascinating visual history, allowing the reader to explore the many different facets of life throughout the region.

The Inner Islands, Bland Simpson, UNC Press, 219 pgs, $34.95, hard

"No one can spin a coastal yarn like Bland Simpson. He is our region's undisputed bard. With its protraits of coastal life and Ann Simpson's gorgeous pictures, this gook is for everyone who loves the North Carolina shores."
—Jan DeBlieu, author of Hatteras Journal

Hope for a Good Season: The Ca'e Bankers of Harkers Island, Carmine Prioli, Down Home Press, 119 pgs, $15.95, paper

The people who lived near Cape Lookout on North Carolina's Core Banks were a hardy band of fishermen and whale hunters…some Harkers Island natives still cling to tradition, facing each new year with hope for a good season. It is they who are featured in this book about a way of life that is soon to disappear.

Shipwrecks of Ocracoke Island, Sonny Williamson, Grandma Publications, 265 pgs, $14.95, paper

The old lifesavers used to quote a little ditty which some salt wrote; "You have to go Out and that's a fact. Nothin' says you have to come back.”

The Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks , Carmine Prioli, photos, Scott Taylor, John F. Blair Publishers, 120 pgs, $16.95, paper

The Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks is a comprehensive overview of the famous herd—it's possible origins and development, its hardiness in the face of hurricanes, its complex relationship with humans, its hard-won protection within the Cape Lookout National Seashore. The book's plentiful illustrations —both archival and contemporary— show why the Shackleford horses are so beloved among visitors to the Outer Banks.

Hard Times and a Nickel Bucket, John Maiolo, Chapel Hill Press, $14.95, paper

The book is an historical account of the shrimp fishery’s development and problems fishermen, dealers and managers face every day. Maiolo also examines how issues related to the biology of the animals, changes in technology, competition among the various harvesters, imports of low priced shrimp, and resource managers’ attempts to come to grips with various sources of competition and conflict, foster intriguing and innovative adaptations. The communities within which the fishery developed and flourished are described as well (e.g. Southport, Harker’s Island, Morehead City and Beaufort).

Unsung Heroes of the Surf: The Lifesaving Services of Carteret County, Sonny Williamsom, Grandma publications, 222 pgs, $10.85, paper

Sonny Williamson has given us a detailed picture of the Lifesaving Service, many in the participant's own words.