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“Bath: The First Town in North Carolina” The first town to be incorporated in North Carolina (1705-6), Bath played a significant role in the colony's formative years. From conflicts with Native Americans and pirates to political and regional factionalism, Bath was at the center of the colony's stormy economic and political life. Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, may have lived there. The oldest church in North Carolina (1734), St. Thomas Episcopal Church, still stands in Bath. “Bath: The First Town in North Carolina,” by Alan D. Watson, published to celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of North Carolina's oldest town, opens a historic window onto both Bath and the state's distant colonial past. Published by North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh. Softcover, 153 pages, $18. Call (919) 733-7442 or visit http://store.yahoo.com/nc-historical-publications |
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Confederates’ last words Wealthy plantation owners and hardscrabble farmers, legendary generals and buck privates—at the onset of the Civil War, their backgrounds were as divided as the nation but by war’s end they all shared a common destiny. Author Daniel Barefoot of Lincolnton examines the lives of 52 Confederates, concentrating on their last words, in his new book, “Let Us Die Like Brave Men.” Photographs of the soldiers, their graves or places they fell illustrate the text, with each bittersweet account chosen to highlight a different aspect of the war. Published by John F. Publisher of Winston Salem. Hardcover, 281 pages, $19.95. (800) 222-9796 |
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“Birding North Carolina” This comprehensive guide takes you to 44 premier birding locations across the state, as chosen by the members of the Carolina Bird Club. Organized by region, “Birding North Carolina” provides descriptions of each site, key species and directions to get there. Co-editors and North Carolinians Marshall Brooks and Mark Johns also included information about the seasonal distributions of 122 North Carolina bird specialties such as where they occur and the best times to see them. Softcover, 212 pages, $12.95. Published by Globe Pequot Press in Guilford, Conn. (800) 962-0973 |
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Cooking with Herbs “Basil to Thyme: Culinary Endeavors from the Garden to the Kitchen” combines both cooking and gardening to create a collection of herb recipes. Blue Ridge EMC members and authors Tim Haas and Jan Beane, both of Hickory, explain herbal usage from how to plant and cultivate your own fresh herbs to highlighting the history and health benefits of a featured herb. Extra pages are left in each chapter to allow chefs to add, modify or create their own recipes. A planting calendar concludes the book, giving a quick and easy planting guide for a successful herb garden. Published by Champion Press, Ltd. Softcover, 322 pages, $22.95. (877) 250-3354 |
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Civil War series reprinted Out of print for decades and timed to coincide with the 140th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, the acclaimed book series “North Carolina Troops, 1861–1865: A Roster” is available again. With 15 hardcover volumes to date, the reprinted series contains the history of every North Carolina unit that fought in the Civil War, along with service records of each of the approximately 130,000 North Carolina soldiers, both Confederate and Federal. The histories are based on officers’ reports, orders and official correspondence, as well as letters, memoirs and newspapers accounts. The soldiers’ service records are based on company muster rolls, hospital records, prisoner-of-war records, casualty and parole lists, pension applications, cemetery records, censuses, family histories, and other sources. Each soldier’s service record includes information such as his county of birth and residence, age and occupation at enlistment, and whether he was wounded, captured, killed, promoted, transferred, or whether he suffered disease, deserted, or survived the war. The later volumes are enriched with maps and photographs of some soldiers. Pricing of individual volumes ranges from $40 to $65 each. (919) 733-7442 |