In his preface, the compiler reminds us that "all bibliographies are but starting points for researchers."
North Carolina History provides a strong starting place for serious research, not only in North Carolina history, but also in the history of early America, the American South, genealogy, Native and African Americans, women in America, and more.
Jones is former state archivist and director of the North Carolina State Department of Archives and History. He was also for many years the curator of the University of North Carolina's North Carolina Collection, reputedly the largest repository of information on a single state in the country.
North Carolina History features 11,399 entries for books, pamphlets, articles, theses, and dissertations. It includes publications about the state from the first description of Cape Fear in 1524 through 1992. An earlier volume by Mary L. Thorton, A Bibliography of North Carolina, 1589^-1956 (Univ. of North Carolina, 1958), does not include articles, theses, or dissertations, although it does contain fiction, which Jones does not. Jones' volume opens with a chronology of North Carolina history. Entries in the first chapters are categorized in four major areas: the environment, including the state's natural features, flora and fauna, climate, and natural disasters; prehistory and archaeology; North Carolina Indians, arranged by major tribes; and exploration and attempted settlement. The rest of the work is divided into chronological periods, with each subdivided into 12 subjects, such as religion, ethnic and racial groups, economic history, science, and medicine. The largest chapter, a county-by-county breakdown, includes unique local histories. A final chapter describes historic sites and museums. Due to the number of entries, annotations are necessarily brief, usually one line. Jones masterfully makes the most of limited space, such as in this entry: "Coggins, James Caswell. Abraham Lincoln, a North Carolinian; with Proof.. . The myth survives."
This volume is the third in the Greenwood Bibliographies of the States of the United States series; volumes are available for Illinois, Kansas, and South Dakota. North Carolina History is recommended for all medium-size and large North Carolina libraries, as well as for large academic and public library research collections regardless of geographic location.
.,."provides a strong starting place for serious research, not only in North Carolina history, but also in the history of early America, the American South, genealogy, Native and African Americans, women in America, and more. Recommended for all medium-size and large North Carolina libraries, as well as for large academic and public library research collections regardless of geographic location."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
