Amazing North Carolina
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| THERESA JENSEN LACEY PO Box 1175 Fairhope, AL 36533 Email Me! |
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First released in Fall of 2003, this book has been republished by Jefferson Press as part of my "Amazing America" series. Released in Spring of 2008, this is the second in the series.
Written in the same style as AMAZING TENNESSEE, this
book is full of anecdotes, short stories, Q&A, trivia games, and even recipes that are
a reflection of the Tarheel State. "With those travel-related stories
and recipes and short stories in there," a good friend quipped, "that kind of book can go
from the car to the kitchen and then into the bathroom!" I've met many fine and friendly people from North Carolina, and without exception have been welcomed wherever I've gone. If you've never visited the state, it's so wonderful you may as well go ahead and pack up your house, because you'll either stay longer than you planned, or want to move there. This book has everything in it, too, from ghosts to golf, sports to war, politics to drama, and also a special chapter on lighthouse tales--my personal favorite. Like AMAZING TN, the book is indexed, full of photos, and with a section in the back for Internet users entitled "Virtual North Carolina." This book has sold more than 10,000 copies since its initial release in 2003, and it continues to do well since its re-publication in 2008 by Jefferson Press. Amazing North Carolina is now available through Jefferson Press. |
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| Chapter List: Chapter 1. THE TRULY BIZARRE, THE CURIOUS AND THE NOTORIOUS The Unsolved Murder of Beautiful Nell Cropsey * “Just Hanging Around” in the Caswell County Jail * The Devil’s Tramping Ground * The Mysterious Origins of Judaculla Rock* Now You Can Feel Secure from Alien Abduction: the Alien Abduction Detector * Bath and the Mysterious Hoof-Prints * Pardoning the Legend: Tom Dooley * The Ghost-Ship of the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” * The Original Siamese Twins—in Mt. Airy! * Before Viagra, There Was “Goat-Gland Binkley” * One Hair-Raising Venture * The Haunting of the Double-Wides in Chapel Hill * Bald-Headed Men of America Society in Morehead City * Dolly Death-Chairs in Charlotte * The Haunting of the Executive Mansion * The Story of Blackbeard the Pirate * CHAPTER 2. POLITICAL, MILITARY, AND TRANSPORTATION TALES Abraham Lincoln: A Tarheel by Birth! * The Vice-President Who Never Was! * Before They Even Had Chads to Count! * The Story of the Revolution in Greensboro * Fifty-one (or Two?) for Tea: The Story of the Edenton Tea Party * Hail to the (Vertically-Challenged) Chief! * Doctor Richard J. Gatling and His “Life-Saving” Gun * America’s Smallest Town * When a Tarheel Saved George Washington * The Tale of the Overmountain Men * Losing the Battle, Winning the War: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse * The Capital of Raleigh and Cherry Bounce (with recipe) * The Story Behind the Bricks Surrounding the Executive Mansion * The Story of the Illiterate Tailor * Infamous Misadventures of “Nolichucky Jack” * One “Ferry” Tale * The Battle Against Mother Nature for Mattamuskeet Lake * Senator Jesse Helms’ Secret for Longevity? * The Story of the Comeback Train (and another railroad tale) * The War That Built a Dam * The Story of Warping, Rudders and Mosquitoes * How Technology Changed the Historical Accounts of the ‘First Flight’ * The Story of the Bumble Bee * Operation Bumble Bee * The Man Who Transformed Commercial Transportation * Wagons, Ho! The Story Behind Cherohala Skyway * The Road to Nowhere in Bryson City * Two ‘Rights’ and a Wrong Choice: Henry Clay’s Famous Letter * The Paul Revere of the South: Captain James Jack * Why the Name ‘Tarheel’? * Official State Symbols * CHAPTER 3. BEFORE “THE” WAR An Accident Leads to an Invention: The Story of Sequoyah * The Old-Name Game * Town Names, Now and Then * Strange Town Names in North Carolina * A Tragic Page in History: The Trail of Tears * Some Early Settlers * CHAPTER 4. FAMOUS NORTH CAROLINIANS The Convict Who Became a Famous Writer * The Man Who Couldn’t Go Home Again * The Story of Thomas Wolfe’s Real Angel * “Good Night, and Good Luck”: Edward Murrow * The Story of the Battleship U.S.S. North Carolina * Elizabeth Dole * Governor Aycock, The Education Governor * A Match Made in Asheville: Andie MacDowell * A Mother Immortalized, Who Made Her Artist-Son Famous * Andy Griffith * Mt. Airy: The “Real” Mayberry * The “Barefoot Contessa,” Ava Gardner * Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman to Become a Physician * David Brinkley * Charles Kurault * and more CHAPTER 5. FROM THE HILLS OF NORTH CAROLINA Some Things That Make Great Smoky Mountain National Park Unique * How Mount Mitchell Got Its Name * The Vanderbilt Legacy in North Carolina * The Re-Birth of a Nation: The Eastern Band of the Cherokee * A Moonshine Story * The Mystery Behind Eric Rudolph’s Fate * CHAPTER 6. RELIGION AND UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES The Church Moved by the Hand of God! * Cursed by a Man of the Cloth * Stories of Snake-Handlers * The “Christ-Figure of the Religion of the Lost Cause” * The Enduring Mystery and Legacy of Roanoke * How North Carolina Might Have Been Named Florence * The Serendipitous Utopia: Hot Springs * The Moravian Utopian * The Buddhist Temple in Bolivia * The Highland Scots of the Tarheel State * Other tidbits about Billy Graham, the Quakers, Little Switzerland, and More * CHAPTER 7. SPORTS You Never Forget Your First—Home Run (Babe Ruth) * Jim Thorpe and His Foray Into Pro-Ball in the Tarheel State * Michael Jordan * Sir Archie and the Culture of Horse-Racing * Arnold Palmer * Golfer Charlie Sifford * Holding Court: The Queen of NC State Basketball (Kay Yow) * Roman Gabriel * Enos “Country” Slaughter * Family Dynasties of the NASCAR Kind * Howard Cosell * Fishing Records in NC * and More CHAPTER 8. THE CIVIL WAR IN NORTH CAROLINA The Story Behind “First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Last at Appomattox” * New Bern, Cover-Girl City of the War * When a Coincidence Saved a Spy From Hanging * The Civil War Meets Modern Archaeology * The Spy and the Missing Gold: The Story of Rose Greenhow * The Story of “Thomas’s Legion” * “Waterloo Teeth” and Civil War Dentistry * The Near-Death Experience of Zebulon Vance * The Brief Reign of the Smithville Home Guard * The Story of the CSS Neuse * The Bonnie and Clyde of the Civil War * The Tragic Story of the Harper House * The Story of “Lion-Hearted Flusser” * The “Gibraltar of the South,” Fort Fisher * The Strange Story of James Reilley’s Missing Sword * The Tarheel Author Who Helped Abe Lincoln Get Elected President! * Fighting in the Buff * Hard Times in the Carolinas: Off-theWall Recipes From the Civil War * When “Even the Bravest Man Wept”: Surrender * Sunken History: The USS Monitor * The Economy and the Blockade-Runners * Levi Coffin, Quaker Tarheel and the Underground Railroad * Quakers in North Carolina: “Freedom’s Gate”* CHAPTER 9. WHEELERS AND DEALERS The Story of the “Chicken Competition”: Mast General Store * This Angler Caught More than Fish! Or, The First Documented Discovery of Gold in America * Making the Headlines: Josephus Daniels * “Cuppa Joe”: Tarheel Expression? * Vicks, the Rub the Relieved (and Made) Millions! * The “Rose Buddies” of Elizabeth City * The Birthplace of Pepsi-Cola * The Home of the World-Famous Krispy-Kreme Doughnuts * Lost and Found! The Queen Anne’s Revenge * Promoting America’s First Airplane (in Murfreesboro!) * The Dukes of Durham * Sunken Treasure, Avast! * CHAPTER 10. FILM, MUSIC AND DRAMA OF NORTH CAROLINA The State Song * The Story of the ‘Song-Catcher’ * When Waynesville Goes International (Folkmoot) * The Song of the Chanteymen * “Tweet” Success: The Annual Whistling Competition * “Saint” John Coltrane * Eva Boyd * Music Maker Relief Foundation * The NC Symphony * The World’s Only Musical Composer—for Animals! * Libba Cotten, Upside-Down Music * East Hollywood: The Film-making Industry in the Tarheel State * A Flair for the Dramatic: A List of Outdoor Dramas Held Annually * The Hills are Alive With…the Sound of This Boy’s Choir * Piedmont Opera Theatre * Music/Singer Trivia * CHAPTER 11. FLORA, FAUNA AND NATURAL PHENOMENA This Place is the Cat’s Meow! The Carnivore Preservation Trust * The Wild Horses of Currituck Sound * In Spring a North Carolinian’s Fancy Turns to…Turtles * The Great Dismal Swamp Story * A Blind Person’s Guide Foundation…Using Pygmy Horses? * Section on Unusual Fauna * The Cradle of Forestry * The Forest History Society * The Kudzu Queen, Kudzu Culture and Alternative Medicine * Straight from a Sci-Fi Flick – the Story of Venus’ Fly-trap * That Touch of Mink: Murphy in Charlotte * Take Your Dog to Work Day in King, NC * The Grandfather of the Blue Ridge * Mildred the Bear * Whales, Birds and Sharks, Oh My: The Town of Aurora * Vineyard Trivia * CHAPTER 12. SPEECH, FOOD AND FASCINATING CULTURAL TIDBITS The Way Things are Said * The Vilest-Smelling, Sweetest-Tasting Weed: The Ramp * The Annual Collard Festival in Ayden * One-of-a-Kind Festivals (incl. Transylvania County’s Halloween-Fest) * The Man Will Never Fly Society * The Cypress Grill and the Herring Season * Corn, One of the Four Food Groups * An Eagle’s Next for Humans * Calabash, the Seafood Capital of the World and the Story of Jimmy Durante * Roasted Oysters, Tarheel Style * The Center of the (Barbecue) Universe: Lexington * North Carolina’s “First, Biggest, Most” Claims to Fame* CHAPTER 13. UNUSUAL GRAVE AND BURIAL STORIES The Old Burying Ground in Beaufort * Raleigh’s Oakwood Cemetery * The Circus Diver: They Danced on His Grave! * The Culture of Death in the South, With Bereavement Recipes * When is a Headstone a Footstone? Or, The Game’s Afoot! * Famous People Buried in North Carolina * The Bodies Above the Tunnel * Wilmington’s Oakdale Cemetery * Poetic Immortality: Joyce Kilmer * The Mysterious Disappearance of Peter Dromgoole * Caskets for Pets! * A Mysterious Burial Ground: Kituhwa * Tombstone Inscriptions * The Barrels of Bones in Hatteras Village * CHAPTER 14. LIGHTHOUSE AND COASTAL STORIES The Mercurial Nature of the Outer Banks: What Makes Them the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”? * Stories of Surfmen, Keepers and Lifesavers * Beacons of Light and Life: The Lighthouses * Cape Hatteras * Cuttituck Beach Lighthouse * Bald Head Lighthouse * Oak Island Lighthouse * Price’s Creek Lighthouse * Ocracoke Lighthouse * Bodie Island Lighthouse * Cape Lookout Lighthouse * Stories Behind Lighthouse Designs and Colors * The Real Perfect Storm and Elizabeth City’s Heroes * Lighthouse Q&A * VIRTUAL NORTH CAROLINA |
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Where to Buy:
and your local book store.
Get your copy today! |
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| Author's Agent Contact: Lantz Powell Literary Agency for Southern Authors Chattanooga, TN tel: 423.893.5539 email: southernlitagent@aol.com |
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