The Inner Islands

232 pp., 7 x 10, 54 illus., 4 maps, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-7125-6
Published: March 2010
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-7674-9
Published: September 2007
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-7553-2
Published: September 2007

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Blending history, oral history, autobiography, and travel narrative, Bland Simpson explores the islands that lie in the sounds, rivers, and swamps of North Carolina's inner coast. In each of the fifteen chapters in the book, Simpson covers a single island or group of islands, many of which, were it not for the buffering Outer Banks, would be lost to the ebbs and flows of the Atlantic. Instead they are home to unique plant and animal species and well-established hardwood forests, and many retain vestiges of an earlier human history.

About the Authors

Bland Simpson is a member of the Tony Award-winning Red Clay Ramblers and has collaborated on such musicals as King Mackerel, Kudzu, and the Broadway hit Fool Moon. He teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was the 2005 Fine Arts recipient of the North Carolina Award, the state's highest civilian honor. His books include Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals and Into the Sound Country, which also features photography by his wife, Ann.
For more information about Bland Simpson, visit the Author Page.

Ann Cary Simpson is associate dean of the School of Government at UNC Chapel Hill.
For more information about Ann Cary Simpson, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"The Simpsons provide yet another memorable portrait of a region that's endlessly fascinating. . . . [Bland Simpson is] a gifted storyteller with an evocative style. . . . Anne Simpson's striking black-and-white photos complete the vision. . . . A keepsake."—Our State

"Simpson writes with a graceful, elegant touch about those who once peopled the banks and islands and along the creeks and rivers of the vast region below the fall line. He does so with a sense of history, a reverence for traditions that once made Eastern North Carolina so distinctive and a prophetic concern for the change that is transforming his native land."—Charlotte Observer

"Simpson's love of these islands shines through on every page."—Bloomsbury Review

"Well-rounded. . . . A perfect guide. . . . Highly recommended reading."—Sea History

"In The Inner Islands, [Bland Simpson] shares his passion by taking readers on a rollicking cruise down the coastal sound country. . . . Simpson has a gift for painting vivid verbal pictures that help us see what he does, and our vision is made even clearer by the fine photographs of his wife, Ann Cary Simpson."—News & Observer

"The Inner Islands is sure to be thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by scholars, students, and anyone attracted to the story of forgotten and beautiful places."—North Carolina Historical Review