The University of North Carolina Press, a nonprofit publisher of both scholarly and general-interest books and journals is celebrating the centennial of its founding in 2022.
Established in 1922, UNC Press was the first university press in the South and one of the first in the nation. Its regional publishing program—called Southern Gateways – is aimed at general readers and offers great books on all aspects of the region’s history and culture, its natural and built environment, its music, food, literature, geography, plant and animal life, and more.
A main feature of Southern Gateways are books about the North Carolina Coast. UNC Press has published such important, highly praised and best-selling books as:
North Carolina: Land of Water, Land of Sky by Bland Simpson
Bland Simpson, the celebrated bard of North Carolina’s sound country, has blended history, observation of nature, and personal narrative in many books to chronicle the people and places of eastern Carolina. Yet he has spent much of his life in the state’s Piedmont, with regular travels into its western mountains. Here, for the first time, Simpson brings his distinctive voice and way of seeing to bear on the entirety of his home state, combining storytelling and travelogue to create a portrait of the Old North State with care and humor.
Three of the state’s finest photographers come along to guide the journey: Simpson’s wife and creative partner, Ann Cary Simpson, professional photographer Scott Taylor, and writer and naturalist Tom Earnhardt. Their photos, combined with Simpson’s rich narrative, will inspire readers to consider not only what North Carolina has been and what it is but also what we hope it will be. This book belongs on the shelf of longtime residents, newcomers, and visitors alike.
$37.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
North Carolina Lighthouses: The Stories Behind the Beacons from Cape Fear to Currituck Beach by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts
Of the over four dozen lighthouses that once marked the jagged shoreline of North Carolina, only nine still stand, watching over 300 miles of coast. These beacons are cherished monuments of North Carolina history. In addition to warning ships to safer waters, they now draw thousands of visitors each year. With this book, cofounders of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts provide a well-researched, human-centered, and beautifully illustrated history of these towering structures.
The authors offer stories—including the misadventures of Civil War spies and the threat of looming German U-boats off the North Carolina coast—that provide important context and meaning to the history of North Carolina’s lighthouses. From Cape Fear to Currituck Beach, every still-standing lighthouse is lovingly described alongside their architects, builders, and keepers and the sailors who depended on the lighthouses to keep them from harm.
$22.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
Blackbeard’s Sunken Prize: The 300-Year Voyage of Queen Anne’s Revenge by Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing and Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton
In 1717, the notorious pirate Blackbeard captured a French slaving vessel off the coast of Martinique and made it his flagship, renaming it Queen Anne’s Revenge. Over the next six months, the heavily armed ship and its crew captured all manner of riches from merchant ships sailing the Caribbean to the Carolinas. But in June 1718, with British authorities closing in, Blackbeard reportedly ran Queen Anne’s Revenge aground just off the coast of what is now North Carolina’s Fort Macon State Park. What went down with the ship remained hidden for centuries, as the legend of Blackbeard continued to swell in the public’s imagination. When divers finally discovered the wreck in 1996, it was immediately heralded as a major find in both maritime archaeology and the history of piracy in the Atlantic. Now the story of Queen Anne’s Revenge and its fearsome captain is revealed in full detail.
Having played vital roles in the shipwreck’s recovery and interpretation, Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing and Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton vividly reveal in words and images the ship’s first use as a French privateer and slave ship, its capture and use by Blackbeard’s armada, the circumstances of its sinking, and all that can be known about life as an eighteenth-century pirate based on a wealth of artifacts now raised from the ocean floor.
$28.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
Saltbox Seafood Joint Cookbook by Ricky Moore
Carolina Catch: Cooking North Carolina Fish and Shellfish from Mountains to Coast by Debbie Moose
Early in life, North Carolinian Debbie Moose encountered fish primarily in stick form, but once she experienced her first raw oyster and first fried soft-shell crab, their pure flavors switched her on to shellfish and fish forever. Moose has now written the cookbook that unlocks for everyone the fresh tastes of North Carolina grilled tuna, steamed shrimp, pan-seared mountain trout, fried catfish, and baked littleneck clams, to name just a few of the culinary treasures sourced from the waters of a state that stretches from the mountains to the sea.
In ninety-six dishes, Moose shows how to prepare North Carolina fish and shellfish–freshwater, saltwater, wild-caught, and farmed–in both classic southern and inventive, contemporary ways. The book’s Best Basics section provides a much needed one-stop resource for confident selection, preparation, and storage, and the Think Seasonal section offers a comprehensive list with descriptions and peak availability of North Carolina fish and shellfish.
Moose has now written the cookbook that unlocks for everyone the fresh tastes of North Carolina grilled tuna, steamed shrimp, pan-seared mountain trout, fried catfish, and baked littleneck clams, to name just a few of the culinary treasures sourced from the waters of a state that stretches from the mountains to the sea. In ninety-two dishes, Moose shows how to prepare North Carolina fish and shellfish–freshwater, saltwater, wild-caught, and farmed–in both classic southern and inventive, contemporary ways.
$35.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
Fishing North Carolina’s Outer Banks: The Complete Guide to Catching More Fish from Surf, Pier, Sound, and Ocean by Stan Ulanski
In this hands-on, how-to guide to fishing North Carolina’s Outer Banks, expert fisherman Stan Ulanski combines his enthusiasm, his experience, and his scientific expertise to show anglers how to catch more fish.
Focusing on the essential but often misunderstood links between recreational fishing and the biology, geography, and natural history of the region, Fishing North Carolina’s Outer Banks fosters an understanding of the aquatic environment of one of the nation’s prime fishing destinations. Ulanski reveals the best approaches to the six main Outer Banks angling scenarios: surf, pier, sound, offshore, inshore, and reef, ledge, and shipwreck fishing. The book features illustrated fish profiles–each loaded with essential information, including identification, food value, and habitat pointers–and species-specific fishing tips for thirty-five of the Outer Banks’ most common game fish. And, once you’ve made your catch, Ulanski provides important storing, cleaning, and cooking advice–including six of his favorite fresh fish recipes. This is a trusty tackle box tool for planning fishing trips to the Outer Banks and for understanding the underwater setting of the fish you’re out to catch.
$35.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
The New Guide to North Carolina Beaches: All You Need to Know to Explore and Enjoy Currituck, Calabash, and Everywhere Between by Glenn Morris
The New Guide to North Carolina Beaches is an invaluable resource for every coastal traveler in the Tar Heel State. This descriptive guide to North Carolina’s coastal counties goes far beyond the basics to showcase all that the seaside has to offer, from beach access points and camping options to aquariums, museums, and other attractions. Glenn Morris also shares informative and entertaining histories of each county, insights into the maritime environment and its wildlife, and useful tips on subjects like the dos and don’ts of beach driving.
- A beach-by-beach tour of more than 300 miles of coastline
- Highlights public access points for beachgoers
- Offers practical guidance for trip planning, whether day trips or weeklong vacations
- Includes detailed maps, contact information, hours of operation, and much more
$24.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
Saving the Wild South: The Fight for Native Plants on the Brink of Extinction by Georgann Eubanks
The American South is famous for its astonishingly rich biodiversity. In this book, Georgann Eubanks takes a wondrous trek from Alabama to North Carolina to search out native plants that are endangered and wavering on the edge of erasure. Even as she reveals the intricate beauty and biology of the South’s plant life, she also shows how local development and global climate change are threatening many species, some of which have been graduated to the federal list of endangered species.
Why should we care, Eubanks asks, about North Carolina’s Yadkin River goldenrod, found only in one place on earth? Or the Alabama canebrake pitcher plant, a carnivorous marvel being decimated by criminal poaching and a booming black market? These plants, she argues, are important not only to the natural environment but also to southern identity, and she finds her inspiration in talking with the heroes—the botanists, advocates, and conservationists young and old—on a quest to save these green gifts of the South for future generations. These passionate plant lovers caution all of us not to take for granted the sensitive ecosystems that contribute to the region’s long-standing appeal, beauty, and character.
$25.00 Buy It In The Island Life Store
… and many more.
All these books are available from the Island Life Bookstore
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