Beyond Mayberry Revised: A Memoir of Andy Griffith and Mount Airy North Carolina

by Thomas D. Perry

In this revised edition of his 2012 best selling book, Beyond Mayberry, Award Winning Author and Historian, Thomas D. "Tom" Perry, doubles the size of the previous book from 250 to over 500 pages just in time for the 60th anniversary of the release of The Andy Griffith Show in October 1960. Perry adds to the knowledge about how much Andy Griffith's hometown, Mount Airy, North Carolina, is the basis for the fictional town of Mayberry made famous in the show. This book has new chapters about Betty Lynn, who played Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show and later moved to Mount Airy. This book has new chapters about Russell Hiatt and Emmett Forrest, who helped turn Mount Airy into a tourist mecca as The Real Mayberry. This the source for information about Andy Griffith and his hometown based on years of research including personal interviews with many of those involved.

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 23, 2020

About the author

Historian Thomas D. "Tom" Perry was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and grew up just over the border in Ararat, Patrick County, Virginia, where Civil War General J. E. B. Stuart, Reverend Bob Childress "The Man Who Moved A Mountain," and Orleana Hawks Puckett, the famous mid-wife on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Perry has written or published over thirty books on regional history focusing on the Civil War. His latest book Beyond Mayberry: A Memoirs of Andy Griffith and Mount Airy North Carolina.

Reviews

[David Trowbridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book fell flat for me. I was hoping to get some insight into the Andy Griffith Show, and the book fell short in that area in my opinion. As another review mentioned, the author spends a tremendous amount of time talking about himself.

If you are looking for a book on Mt. Airy, North Carolina, this is the book for you. It also speaks very heavily on Mayberry Days, which they celebrate every September.

As a fan of Andy Griffith, I enjoyed many of the candid photos of him that were shared in the book. Those were the highlight of the book for me.

[Cheryl A. Breidigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read.

Interesting book. I have read probably every book about ANDY Griffith, Don Knotts and anything related to the show Book was well written but didn't really give me anything new.