Non-Fiction Books

Take a photographic journey through the spectacular scenery of North Carolina with notable landscape photographer George Humphries. From the magnificent and enigmatic Great Smoky Mountains to the green, rolling hills of Piedmont, to the stately pine-covered dunes and fragile islands of the Coastal Plain, the sheer beauty of the Tar Heel State is captured in this splendid volume. Travel along the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and visit the grand Roanoke River. Explore the capes, islands, and beaches of North Carolina's glorious coast. Visit captivating historical sites across the state. A moving and nostalgic essay by Clyde Edgerton brings the people, culture, and history of North Carolina to life.

When Clyde Edgerton was four years old, his mother took him to the local airport to see the planes. For Edgerton, it was love at first sight. Eighteen years later, she would take him to the same airport to catch a flight to Texas for Air Force pilot training. In Solo, Edgerton tells the story of his lifelong love affair with flying, from his childlike wonder to his job as a fighter pilot flying reconnaissance over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Now, nearly thirty-five years after the war in Vietnam, he looks back at his youthful passion for flying, at the joy he took in mastering it, at the exhilaration-and lingering anguish-of combat flying. It is a story told with empathy and humor-and with searing honesty that will resonate with every pilot who remembers the first takeoff, the first landing, the first solo. For the nonpilots who always choose the window seat, it's a thrilling story to live vicariously.

Now in its fifth edition, this collection of excerpts by the creative-writing faculty of the University of North Carolina Wilmington is designed as both a text for apprentice writers and a guide for apprentice readers.

After three decades of being a father, Clyde Edgerton-with four kids ranging in age from six to 30-is supremely qualified to give tips to dads of all ages. His fathering advice, pre-birth through schooling, involves plenty of his trademark humor, but also sound guidance enhanced by his training and experience as an educator. Papa Edgerton suggests that on occasion a father might forego reading and just point to the pictures of dogs and cats in baby books, and also that he might place a blanket on the lawn, lie on his back with the whole family, and watch Sky Television. Edgerton's humorous and helpful counsel will guide new parents on interacting with in-laws and coping with sleep deprivation, while also providing strategies for recovery after you've cursed in front of a mimicking baby. "If you don't feel apprehensive just before your first child is to arrive, you are abnormal," writes Edgerton. Yet by way of his experience, observation, and imagination, he provides caution and pure joy in equal measure. "Edgerton is so, so funny. He captures the rainbows, cheap thrills, and irritating potholes of parenting with splendid understatement."- Library Journal