2ND (ENHANCED) EDITION. Larger, more photos. AUTOGRAPHED FOR YOU BY THE AUTHOR. * Sold directly by the author, signed &amp; with inscription personalized as you want it. * NEW HARDCOVER WITH JACKET. * Book is a recipient of the North Carolina Society of Historians' Willie Parker Peace History Book Award. 2nd edition is 35 percent larger with dozens more photos. Great memento or gift. 
=============First Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0615716784 
============="OCRACOKE: THE PEARL OF THE OUTER BANKS," the fourth book in Ray McAllister's award-winning North Carolina coastal series, is a look at the history, the people and the continuing allure of the remote, white-sanded island that draws tens of thousands of tourists each year. "Ocracoke" tells the island's story from the early days of Native Americans and European explorers to today's artists, musicians, fishermen and bicycle-riding tourists. Along the way, it shares the stories of Blackbeard the Pirate's bloody demise, German U-boat attacks off Ocracoke's coast, and the role of the iconic 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse. Here, too, are portraits of ferries full of visitors, a legendary herd of once-wild ponies, miles of nationally honored beaches, the charmingly unpaved Howard Street and the poignantly serene British Cemetery - along with the inside stories of what draws families back year after year, generation after generation. "Ocracoke" also presents a striking new proposal from Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the world-famous Dr. Beach, to enhance Ocracoke's reputation as a world-class walking village. "Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks" is a delightful look at what makes Ocracoke special - and likely always will.

Ocracoke: The Pearl of The Outer Banks

History

Ray McAllister

Americas

Beach Glass Books

2ND (ENHANCED) EDITION. Larger, more photos. PAPERBACK VERSION, COMES SHRINK-WRAPPED. Sold directly by author, and can be opened and signed if buyer requests. * Book is a recipient of the North Carolina Society of Historians' Willie Parker Peace History Book Award. 2nd edition is 35 percent larger with dozens more photos. Great memento or gift. ============="OCRACOKE: THE PEARL OF THE OUTER BANKS," the fourth book in Ray McAllister's award-winning North Carolina coastal series, is a look at the history, the people and the continuing allure of the remote, white-sanded island that draws tens of thousands of tourists each year. "Ocracoke" tells the island's story from the early days of Native Americans and European explorers to today's artists, musicians, fishermen and bicycle-riding tourists. Along the way, it shares the stories of Blackbeard the Pirate's bloody demise, German U-boat attacks off Ocracoke's coast, and the role of the iconic 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse. Here, too, are portraits of ferries full of visitors, a legendary herd of once-wild ponies, miles of nationally honored beaches, the charmingly unpaved Howard Street and the poignantly serene British Cemetery - along with the inside stories of what draws families back year after year, generation after generation. "Ocracoke" also presents a striking new proposal from Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the world-famous Dr. Beach, to enhance Ocracoke's reputation as a world-class walking village. "Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks" is a delightful look at what makes Ocracoke special - and likely always will.

OCRACOKE: The Pearl of the Outer Banks, 2nd Edition

Soon after crossing the drawbridge from the mainland, you'll reach a fork in the road and face your first decision at Wrightsville Beach. Bearing left will take you to the famous Johnnie Mercer's Fishing Pier and near the site where a giant sperm whale named Trouble once washed ashore and refused to leave. Bearing right will take you to the classic downtown and points south, including the Coast Guard station and the site of the late, great Lumina Pavilion. Either way, you can't go wrong. Wrightsville Beach is Ray McAllister's homage to a special place, a book that captures not only Wrightsville's history but also its heart. Unlike most of the North Carolina coast, Wrightsville had a sizable population base, thanks to nearby Wilmington. Development didn't begin early here, but once it started, it came hard and fast. By the early 20th century, Wrightsville was beckoning family vacationers to its simple beach cottages and day-trippers to its dance floors, cinemas, and sundry amusements. Through all the changes, Wrightsville has never forgotten the hospitality that made it such a destination in the first place. Just ask the airplane full of Pennsylvanians who fled here to escape one of America's first manmade disasters. Or the thousands who continue to come for happier reasons today.

Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island

John F Blair Pub

In Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks, award-winning coastal writer Ray McAllister returns to the site of his family's annual vacations a quarter-century ago. Much has changed on Hatteras. But even more has not. Elsewhere, fast-food restaurants, strip malls, and beach-dominating duplexes have overcome resort islands. But the storm-buffeted Hatteras has kept its soul.
 Hatteras Island also includes stories of fishermen, tourists, surfers, beachgoers, historians, and Hatteras families who have lived here for generations and others who hold dear this island constantly being redefined by wind and wave.

Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks

John F. Blair, Publisher

"Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island," award-winning story of the North Carolina island by Ray McAllister, is back in an enlarged and enhanced 10th anniversary edition. "Wrightsville Beach" has been a continuous seller since its 2007 publication by John F. Blair, Publisher. The new edition, distributed by Beach Glass Books, is 35 percent larger, with double the number of illustrations (now 150), further enhancing it as a keepsake or gift. Included is a new foreword by Washington StarNews Book Columnist Ben Steelman and an afterword by the author detailing changes and challenges facing Wrightsville Beach. The $22.95 hardcover is signed by the author. ABOUT "WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH": Soon after crossing the drawbridge from the mainland, bearing left will take you to the famous Johnnie Mercer's Fishing Pier and near the site where a giant sperm whale named Trouble once washed ashore and refused to leave. Bearing right will take you to the classic downtown and points south, including the Coast Guard station and the site of the late, great Lumina Pavillion. "Wrightsville Beach" is Ray McAllister's homage to a special place, a book that captures not only Wrightsville's history but its heart. Along the way, he shares stories of fire and hurricanes and beach trolleys and Big Bands. Through all the changes, Wrightsville has never forgotten the hospitality that made it such a destination in the first place. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ray McAllister is a former Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist and former editor of Boomer magazine. He is the author of three other award-winning coastal books: Topsail Island; Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke, as well as The Forum Files: The Stories Behind The Richmond Forum. He also publishes other writers' works on the North Carolina coast and Central Virginia.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH: The Luminous Island, 2nd edition

Travel

John F. Blair, Publisher / Beach Glass Books

HATTERAS ISLAND: Keeper of the Outer Banks, 2nd Edition

AN OUTER BANKS CLASSIC, UPDATED, EXPANDED, AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. * * * The much-honored "Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks," by award-winning coastal author Ray McAllister, features larger pages and photographs, as well as nearly 40 pages of new material. The release of the new edition marks the 10th anniversary of the original book. The second edition includes a new author preface and updating afterword, additional photographs, and a foreword by renowned author Philip Gerard. Each copy of the limited edition is signed by the author. * * * "Hatteras" Island shares the history, people and continuing allure of the remote island that has come to symbolize the Outer Banks. Here are stories of the famed lighthouse, the Lost Colony, Blackbeard and fellow pirates, German U-boat attacks, and both the first transmission of music and the receipt of the Titanic's distress call. Here are shipwrecks and hurricanes, the national seashore and Highway 12, the charming villages and the hardy people, and vacationers who love this island. * * * The 2nd edition adds stories of the new bridge to Hatteras, brutal hurricanes, the short-lived Shelly Island, and much more. Hatteras is, as the author says, "a conversation with an island." * * * "Hatteras," winner of the North Carolina Association of Historian's Willie Parker Peace History Book Award and the Readers Favorite Award, is available at most Outer Banks booksellers, selected North Carolina and Virginia stores, and online sellers, including the author's web site, www.RayMcAllister.com.

2nd EDITION. UPDATED AND EXPANDED. (HARDCOVER PUB. 2019, PAPERBACK 2020) Among America's coastal icons, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse ranks at the very top, alongside the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge. 	The other two are in major metropolitan areas. The lighthouse is on a fragile, 50-mile-long, two-thirds-of-a-mile-wide island 30 miles out to sea. Those who visit Hatteras understand they're decidedly in the ocean and only marginally on land.	For a remote patch of real estate with a year-round population of little more than 3,000, Hatteras has witnessed extraordinary history. It may have been the destination of the Lost Colony. Blackbeard likely hobnobbed with the locals. The Monitor went to its watery grave nearby. Radio towers on the island made history's first transmission of music and received the distress call from the Titanic. Billy Mitchell proved the ascendancy of air power by sinking a pair of mothballed battleships offshore. Bodies washed up on the beach following U-boat attacks during World War II. The surfmen at the island's lifesaving stations made some of the most heroic rescues ever.	But Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks is more than a history. It is rather, as author Ray McAllister says, "a conversation with an island." It tells of a vacation paradise that can change instantly into a storm center, of a resort island kept largely free of development-but hardly of controversy-by a national seashore park. It tells of the hardy few who brave the Hatteras winters, those who come to catch record-sized fish from the piers, those who travel disaster-prone Highway 12 and who drove the bare sand before it, those who stood and watched as a 208-foot lighthouse was moved half a mile.	"Pull up a chair," McAllister says. "Have a listen."

Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, 2nd Edition

Topsail Island is a North Carolina barrier island lying between the Outer Banks and Wilmington. Though 26 miles long, it is but 200 yards wide in places and encompasses only 15 square miles. Residents and visitors call it a stretch of paradise.	Or even "Mayberry."	It's easy to see why. Because of its small land area, Topsail has not been subject to the large-scale development of island communities like Nags Head to the north and Wrightsville Beach to the south. Indeed, it remains largely in the idyllic state those places knew half a century ago-a small beach town with few commercial trappings, a family haven whose devotees return generation after generation, a paradise where it's possible to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean and set over Topsail Sound from the same cottage.	But Topsail's outward simplicity belies its rich history and complex future. The island's name? Legend says it was born when the pirate Blackbeard hid his ship behind the island, lying in wait. Those strange block-like towers spaced along the beach? Remnants of a top-secret missile program. The sweeping new bridge? Travel is smoother and quicker, but gone is the beloved and iconic Swing Bridge. Fishing piers and the modest old-time cottages with the whimsical nameplates? They've survived some of the worst storms Mother Nature has devised -- infamous storms like Hazel, Bertha, Fran, and Florence -- only to see their owners tempted by developers offering big money. 	Then there are the giant sea turtles, the secret Gold Hole, the historic Ocean City "Black beach," the massive whale carcass, the mystery of the dead captain and his shipwreck, and even a traveling bear. In the award-winning Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, author Ray McAllister tells the many stories of Topsail with the help of those who love the island best. SIGNED SECOND EDITION HARDCOVER -- UPDATED AND EXPANDED

Topsail Island is a North Carolina barrier island lying between the Outer Banks and Wilmington. Though 26 miles long, it is but 200 yards wide in places and encompasses only 15 square miles. Residents and visitors call it a stretch of paradise.	Or even "Mayberry."	It's easy to see why. Because of its small land area, Topsail has not been subject to the large-scale development of island communities like Nags Head to the north and Wrightsville Beach to the south. Indeed, it remains largely in the idyllic state those places knew half a century ago-a small beach town with few commercial trappings, a family haven whose devotees return generation after generation, a paradise where it's possible to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean and set over Topsail Sound from the same cottage.	But Topsail's outward simplicity belies its rich history and complex future. The island's name? Legend says it was born when the pirate Blackbeard hid his ship behind the island, lying in wait. Those strange block-like towers spaced along the beach? Remnants of a top-secret missile program. The sweeping new bridge? Travel is smoother and quicker, but gone is the beloved and iconic Swing Bridge. Fishing piers and the modest old-time cottages with the whimsical nameplates? They've survived some of the worst storms Mother Nature has devised -- infamous storms like Hazel, Bertha, Fran, and Florence -- only to see their owners tempted by developers offering big money. 	Then there are the giant sea turtles, the secret Gold Hole, the historic Ocean City "Black beach," the massive whale carcass, the mystery of the dead captain and his shipwreck, and even a traveling bear. In the award-winning Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, author Ray McAllister tells the many stories of Topsail with the help of those who love the island best. SECOND EDITION -- UPDATED AND EXPANDED

Soon after crossing the drawbridge from the mainland, you'll reach a fork in the road. Bearing left will take you to the famous Johnnie Mercer's Fishing Pier and near the site where a giant sperm whale named Trouble once washed ashore and refused to leave. Bearing right will take you to the classic downtown and points south, including the Coast Guard station and the site of the late, great Lumina Pavillion. "Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island" is Ray McAllister's homage to a special place, a book that captures not only Wrightsville's history but its heart. Along the way, he shares stories of fire and and hurricanes and beach trolleys and Big Bands. Through all the changes, Wrightsville has never forgotten the hospitality that made it such a destination in the first place. Just ask the airplane full of Pennsylvanians who fled here to escape one of America's first man-made disasters. Or the thousands who continue to come for happier reasons today.The award-winning "Wrightsville Beach" has been a continuous seller since its 2007 publication by John F. Blair, Publisher. The 2nd Edition, distributed by Beach Glass Books for the book's 10th anniversary, is 35 percent larger, with double the number of illustrations, further enhancing it as a keepsake or gift. Included is a new foreword by Washington StarNews Book Columnist Ben Steelman and an afterword by the author detailing changes and challenges facing Wrightsville Beach. In addition to this paperback, a signed hardcover edition continues to be available.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH: The Luminous Island

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ray McAllister. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ray McAllister

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ray McAllister. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Ocracoke: The Pearl of The Outer Banks

OCRACOKE: The Pearl of the Outer Banks, 2nd Edition

Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island

Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH: The Luminous Island, 2nd edition

HATTERAS ISLAND: Keeper of the Outer Banks, 2nd Edition

HATTERAS ISLAND: Keeper of the Outer Banks, 2nd Edition

Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, 2nd Edition

Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea, 2nd Edition

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH: The Luminous Island