What do you think?
Rate this book
A Nutshell History of North Carolina
A concise illustrated history of North Carolina, from its dubious beginnings as a pirate-filled colony to a popular tourist destination.
Author and illustrator Ben Fortson presents North Carolina’s history in the form of off-the-wall anecdotes, poignant insights and sublimely silly illustrations. Take a hilarious look at Daniel Boone’s larger-than-life Carolina personality. Peruse an uproarious account of the Andrew Jackson birthplace controversy or politically astute commentary on the power of tobacco in the state. Fortson takes readers on a side-splitting and educational ride through the annals of Tar Heel State history.
“This will be the most fun North Carolina history book you will ever read, and it will have many students across the state wishing it were part of the curriculum. . . . Ben Fortson travels from the state’s piratical beginnings to its growth as the “The New “Old North State”” via 2015. Told and illustrated in a series of humorous and entertaining vignettes, Fortson shows a flair for the funny—and education.” —Mountain Times
Author and illustrator Ben Fortson presents North Carolina’s history in the form of off-the-wall anecdotes, poignant insights and sublimely silly illustrations. Take a hilarious look at Daniel Boone’s larger-than-life Carolina personality. Peruse an uproarious account of the Andrew Jackson birthplace controversy or politically astute commentary on the power of tobacco in the state. Fortson takes readers on a side-splitting and educational ride through the annals of Tar Heel State history.
“This will be the most fun North Carolina history book you will ever read, and it will have many students across the state wishing it were part of the curriculum. . . . Ben Fortson travels from the state’s piratical beginnings to its growth as the “The New “Old North State”” via 2015. Told and illustrated in a series of humorous and entertaining vignettes, Fortson shows a flair for the funny—and education.” —Mountain Times
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 29, 2011
61 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 15, 2018
A Nutshell History of North Carolina is a humorous yet factual walk through the history of The Tar Heel State from 1 Billion B.C. to 2018. While the author does not delve into the details of the events, which would be impossible within the confines of the 240 pages, Ben Fortson does an admirable job of highlighting some of the most notorious incidents in our state's history. Each page of the book contains a dated description of a historical event with a cartoon on the opposite page. I thought the drawings were acceptable but not outstanding and the text could easily stand alone without them. The real value of this book lies in the scope of years covered and the broad overview of history it provides in a manageable format. The reader will not get bogged down with too many details but gains a terrific overview of the founding and shaping of North Carolina. The Table of Contents alone is a great reference tool as a running account of dates and events.
A Nutshell History of North Carolina is a valuable resource for teachers of Fourth Grade Social Studies, and a tool students can use to gain the perspective of many, many years of history. In my own classroom, we are creating a timeline of North Carolina history and this book will provide many data points for us to add as we delve into the details of some of the early struggles of the Native Americans and the first settlers to the present day state of affairs. The students can read the brief description of an event in this text and opt to research the topic further to gain a complete account of the incident. I suspect this book will be well-used and loved in my classroom!
A Nutshell History of North Carolina is a valuable resource for teachers of Fourth Grade Social Studies, and a tool students can use to gain the perspective of many, many years of history. In my own classroom, we are creating a timeline of North Carolina history and this book will provide many data points for us to add as we delve into the details of some of the early struggles of the Native Americans and the first settlers to the present day state of affairs. The students can read the brief description of an event in this text and opt to research the topic further to gain a complete account of the incident. I suspect this book will be well-used and loved in my classroom!
May 22, 2023
I read this book because I wanted to learn more about my new home. While I certainly learned a lot about North Carolina history, I was put off by the author's cheeky tone--which at times left things unclear as to whether someone was true or a joke.
Learned a lot about NC's history of being a somewhat recalcitrant participant in most things (being gung-ho on revolution before the war, but being a miserly participant once the war actually started; the last state to secede from the Union, generally resisting progress and change), major industries (naval stores, tobacco--where Duke's name comes from, now technology), major east-west divide, etc. While not a waste of time, I'm hopeful there are better books on NC's history out there.
Learned a lot about NC's history of being a somewhat recalcitrant participant in most things (being gung-ho on revolution before the war, but being a miserly participant once the war actually started; the last state to secede from the Union, generally resisting progress and change), major industries (naval stores, tobacco--where Duke's name comes from, now technology), major east-west divide, etc. While not a waste of time, I'm hopeful there are better books on NC's history out there.
March 16, 2020
This book was interesting because it covered lesser known topics of North Carolina's history, without sticking too much on the pirates, or the weird history. (Even though the weird history is down right fascinating most of the time.)
Even though I'm a North Carolina native, I learned quite a bit that wasn't touched on when I was in school. I also liked it that the sections were short enough to perk your interest, so you would (hopefully) want to do your own research on the topic. I also liked it that at the end of the section, the writer had a cartoon giving it a more humorous spin.
Over all, I really liked the book and I would like to read the others.
Even though I'm a North Carolina native, I learned quite a bit that wasn't touched on when I was in school. I also liked it that the sections were short enough to perk your interest, so you would (hopefully) want to do your own research on the topic. I also liked it that at the end of the section, the writer had a cartoon giving it a more humorous spin.
Over all, I really liked the book and I would like to read the others.
November 19, 2019
I enjoyed this review of North Carolina history, and it delivered on the "nutshell" version. The cartoonish illustrations were often hard to make out when reading in the Kindle app on my iPhone (which, surprisingly, I do a lot!), so after a short time I just flipped past them. The rest of it was good, a solid review for me! :-)
March 29, 2021
I love history and the idea of short pages on all the important event in NC history with clever comics to go with it sounded perfect. But about a third of the way into the book it just wasn't working for me. I didn't find the comics clever and I could have gotten more info more quickly if I had a timeline of events and Wikipedia open.
March 5, 2020
Great Way to Report History
A unique way to give an overview of a state’s history. A quick and worthwhile read for those like me moving to North Carolina.
A unique way to give an overview of a state’s history. A quick and worthwhile read for those like me moving to North Carolina.
July 11, 2021
A fast intro to NC history
It was entertaining and an easy read. If you are looking for a simple history lesson then this is you guide.
It was entertaining and an easy read. If you are looking for a simple history lesson then this is you guide.
January 29, 2022
As someone that recently moved to North Carolina, I wanted to learn some history of my new state. This is a fun, easy to read book with short stories.
November 29, 2016
I appreciate this author's interpretation of NC's unique personality using it's history to explain how it somehow became apart of our DNA. We have evolved, but we go kicking and screaming the whole way.
I would recommend the book. The light hearted cartoon illustrations IMO detracted from the book. About half way through the book, I stopped paying any attention to them.
I would recommend the book. The light hearted cartoon illustrations IMO detracted from the book. About half way through the book, I stopped paying any attention to them.
April 4, 2017
Some very interesting facts but I found the cartoon illustrations distracting.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews