Awarded ?Best Book? by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation for the Printing Industries of Virginia?s 2002 Best in Print awards, this collection of more than 100 stunning Outer Banks photographs is possibly the definitive volume of its kind. Photographer Steve Alterman shares three decades? worth of static images offering fresh perspectives of both familiar and out-of-the-way scenes from Corolla through Ocracoke. As Alterman writes, ?Like the colors and patterns of a kaleidoscope, the Outer Banks assaults the senses. The smell of salt air, the pounding of the surf, the colors of the sky, and the presence of the local people, plants and animals all combine to give these barrier islands their ever-changing moods.? His attempt to capture these elements on film has become an obsession, and we?re the fortunate recipients of his talent. This coffee table book makes a perfect gift item ? but be sure to keep one for yourself, for once you leaf through its pages, you won?t want to part with it.

Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, the beach and the infrastructure supporting it continue to be the area's economic engine, however, the region's other physical characteristics are often overlooked. Over the years of its rich history, natural and human forces have shaped the Outer Banks in a manner that has left a legacy of incredible beauty. Outer Banks Edge captures this beauty in an unstructured journey from Corolla to Ocracoke, concentrating on the shapes and colors that make the Outer Banks special. The book makes no attempt to be all things to all people. The photographs themselves drove the book, not vice versa.

In this never-before-assembled collection of lost landmarks, historian Sarah Downing evokes the Outer Banks of yesteryear. Drawn from the vast collections of the Outer Banks History Center and from locals mourning the forever changed character of the area, these vintage images reflect the hotels, stores, restaurants and bandstands that appeared in the boom time following World War II but have since been lost to progress. An honorary native, Downing has preserved the Pirate's Ball at Nags Head Casino, Doc Watson playing at the Sound Side on Kitty Hawk Bay and grits at the El Gay in this collection of hangouts and haunts of yesterday's summer.

The Outer Banks National Scenic Byway received its designation in 2009, an act that stands as a testament to the historical and cultural importance of the communities linked along the North Carolina coast from Whalebone Junction across to Hatteras and Ocracoke Island and down to the small villages of the Core Sound region. This rich heritage guide introduces readers to the places and people that have made the route and the region a national treasure. Welcoming visitors on a journey across sounds and inlets into villages and through two national seashores, Barbara Garrity-Blake and Karen Willis Amspacher share the stories of people who have shaped their lives out of saltwater and sand. The book considers how the Outer Banks residents have stood their ground and maintained a vibrant way of life while adapting to constant change that is fundamental to life where water meets the land. Heavily illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs, Living at the Water's Edge will lead readers to the proverbial porch of the Outer Banks locals, extending a warm welcome to visitors while encouraging them to understand what many never see or hear: the stories, feelings, and meanings that offer a cultural dimension to the byway experience and deepen the visitor's understanding of life on the tideline.

Theres something fascinating about border towns. Who hasnt crossed the line into another state to buy fireworks, gamble, or even to get married? Here are border towns with names as unique as the places themselves, names that bridge the boundaries. Robert D. Temple brings you a quirky, fascinating, and wholly entertaining look at more than eighty North American border towns in Edge Effects. With an adventurers heart and a historians keen eye, Temple explores life on the edge and how these places have made their place in history. Theres big-city Mexicali and empty-quarter Idavada, idyllic Vir-Mar Beach and whiskey-soaked Mondak. Then theres prairie-bleak Alsask, mountain-high Wyocolo, and palmy Florala. And who could forget Texarkana? Along with finding these towns in the first place comes adventure in exploring them, by highway, four-wheel-drive, boots, and kayak, and in encountering memorable locals: historians, farmers, waitresses, cops, forest rangers, railroaders, and neer-do-wells. But even more, these places lead us to investigate concepts of borders, boundaries, frontiers, margins, and marginality, as well as survey lines, battle lines, picket lines, and color lines. Edge Effects brilliantly examines how frontiers enrich cultures and boundaries define them. But more importantly, it reveals how edges shape local historyand our lives. A revised edition of Edge Effects was published July 10, 2009.

Insiders' Guide to North Carolina's Outer Banks is the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information. Written by a local (and true insider), it offers a personal and practical perspective of this beautiful coastal land and its surrounding environs. Published annually, this guide is fully revised and updated and features a new interior layout and a new cover treatment.