The Outer Banks of North Carolina, 1584-1958 (Paperback)

~ David Stick (Author) "STRETCHING ALONG the North Carolina coast for more than 175 miles, from the Virginia line to below Cape Lookout, is a string of low, narrow,..." (more)
Key Phrases: porpoise fishery, shad boats, weather bureau station, North Carolina, Roanoke Island, Cape Hatteras (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Stick's] easy narrative style makes the book pleasant and at times exciting reading.

New York Herald Tribune Book Review

Both the well-known and the not so well-known are brought vividly to life in David Stick's flowing narrative.

Library Journal

Product Description

The Outer Banks have long been of interest to geologists, historians, linguists, sportsmen, and beachcombers. This long series of low, narrow, sandy islands stretches along the North Carolina coast for more than 175 miles.

Here on Roanoke Island in the 1580s, the first English colony in the New World was established. It vanished soon after, becoming the famous "lost colony." At Ocracoke, in 1718, the pirate Blackbeard was killed; at Hatteras Inlet and Roanoke Island important Civil War battles were fought; at Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills the Wright brothers experimented with gliders and in 1903 made their epic flight. The Graveyard of the Atlantic, scene of countless shipwrecks, lies all along the ever-shifting shores of the Banks.

This is the fascinating story of the Banks and the Bankers; of whalers, stockmen, lifesavers, wreckers, boatmen, and fishermen; of the constantly changing inlets famous for channel bass fishing; and of the once thriving Diamond City that disappeared completely in a three-year period.

Product Details

• Paperback: 367 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (April 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080784277X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807842775
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #664,841 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Premier History of Outer Banks Region, March 22, 2000

By	Spencer K. Stephens (Rockville, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Outer Banks of North Carolina, 1584-1958 (Hardcover)

This is the premier history of the Outer Banks area, written by the region's premier historian. It begins in the 16th Century, when European explorers first touched the sandy barrier islands. It carefully traces the course of human and environmental events through the modern era, with special emphasis on the Revolutionary War and Civil War. This is a truly remarkable piece of work that will enlighten anyone interested in Carolina history.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works as both history and a piece of history, October 15, 2008

By	Todd Stockslager (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

New paperback reprint of a book originally published in 1958, with no editorial updates, works as both a history of the Outer Banks, and as a piece of history itself. The 50 years since Stick's original writing have seen the realization of the Outer Banks real estate boom that Stick witnessed birthing, but have also seen the passing away and obliteration of much of the old Outer Banks culture that spoke of piracy, fishing, and the sea.

Overall, Stick does a good job telling about the history of the Banks, although his chapters on the wars, revolutionary and civil, tend to recitations of people and place names and do drag a bit. The virtually unnavigable Outer Banks were not a geographical key to the outcome of the Civil War, unlike the superhighway Mississippi River, and were quickly won back by the Federal invading troops, including some early experience with marine invasion. In fact, as Stick points out, many Bankers quickly swore loyalty to the Union and elected a representative; sent to Washington, Congress debated the merits of seating the rump legislator, but declined on the grounds that a few voters on nearly deserted coastal islands could hardly speak for a state the size of North Carolina which was otherwise seceded.

Stick provides a brief synopsis of the Wright Brother's time in Kitty Hawk, covered in greater depth in other books, but his tales of whaling villages built and deserted (see the chapter on Diamond City), of pirates plundering and captured, and of islands open and alive make the book worth reading as both history and time piece. I was reminded again that while the Outer Banks have been blamed for blocking navigation and coastal port development that has limited the population and economic growth of the state, they have also contributed a physical beauty, isolation, and majesty that is worth more, both economically and aesthetically, than any "progress."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Stick is THE author of the Outer Banks, January 8, 2006

By	Mary (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews

To discover the unique beauty and history of the Outer Banks, David Stick is THE author to read. His lovely blend of history and legend, written in great style, is the perfect book to learn about the lighthouses, people (and horses!) of the Banks.