Recommended Readings 



SMfc^ 



By the Outer Banks 

 History Center staff 



(Editor's Note: I 

 asked Wynne Dough, 

 the curator of the Outer 

 Banks History Center, 

 for a top- 10 list of books 

 people should read to 

 have a better under- 

 standing of the history, 

 culture and natural 

 history of the North 

 Carolina coast. He and 

 his staff collectively 

 arrived at the follow- 

 ing list.) 



We were reluctant 

 to list the 10 or 20 or 

 100 best books about the 

 North Carolina coast. 

 Some superlatives are as 

 boring as household 

 dust; some are the best 

 in one area but not in 

 others. Many fascinating 

 books are badly flawed. 

 We chose instead to list 

 24 books that we've 

 found integral to our 

 tentative understanding 

 of the region. 



Ranking them 

 seemed pointless — a 

 hammer is a better tool, a pie is better 

 dessert — so we've put them in order 

 of their primary authors' surnames. 



1 . John Alexander and James Lazell. 

 Ribbon of Sand: The Amazing Conver- 

 gence of the Ocean and the Outer 

 Banks. Algonquin, 1992. 



Some of the most distinguished 

 regional nature writing published in 



dumplings, fig pudding 

 and yaupon tea — has 

 compelling significance 

 or charm. Unlike 

 innumerable cookbooks 

 produced by churches 

 and civic organiza- 

 tions, this is mercifully 

 short on commonplace 

 dishes. The authors' 

 avoidance of meat loaf 

 almost atones for their 

 omission of stewed 

 loon. 



j. Jan De Blieu. 



Hatteras Journal. 

 Fulcrum, 1987. 



4 



the last decade, as are 3 and 13. 

 Though radically different inform, 

 content and tone, all three are emi- 

 nently readable. 



L. Nancy Davis and Kathy Hart. 



Coastal Carolina Cooking. UNC 

 Press, 1986. 



Nearly every recipe — roasted 

 swan, clam chowder with cornmeal 



Gary S. Dunbar. 

 Historical Geography 

 of the North Carolina 

 Outer Banks. Louisiana 

 State University Stud- 

 ies. Coastal Studies 

 Series 3. LSU Press, 

 1958. 



Although Dunbar 

 worked the academic 

 side of the street and 

 David Stick the popu- 

 lar, the two shared 

 notes and insights. Dunbar's hard-to- 

 find Historical Geography and Stick's 

 Outer Banks (21), which was pub- 

 lished the same year and is still in 

 print, make up many readers' sum of 

 knowledge about the Outer Banks. 



5. Carl Goerch. 

 Blair, 1956. 



Ocracoke. John F. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 19 



