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HATTERAS ISLAND: Keeper of the Outer Banks, 2nd Edition
Hatteras Island includes the stories of fishermen, tourists, surfers, beachgoers, historians, and Hatteras families who have lived here for generations. McAllister returns to the site of his family's annual vacations a quarter-century ago and shares the island's unique and personal history.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
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80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 31, 2021
This book was AMAZING to me. I thought I knew so much about the Outer Banks before but wow, I feel like a mini historian now! Learned so much about the nature, history, people (even those I have met that live down there!) and other known facts that make me want to explore the island even more than I already have 🌾🌊
Next time I go down, this book is coming with me as a personal tour guide. Now I know why the sweet, knowledgeable owner of Buxton Village Books recommended this one....☺️ Ahhh, what a magical place that forever has a spot in my heart 💙
Next time I go down, this book is coming with me as a personal tour guide. Now I know why the sweet, knowledgeable owner of Buxton Village Books recommended this one....☺️ Ahhh, what a magical place that forever has a spot in my heart 💙
August 20, 2022
An awesome summarization of Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks. I learned so much, and it makes me so excited to go back down there soon!
July 10, 2015
After visiting Hatteras Island for the first time since I was a kid, it held many wonders that intrigued me as we walked and drove around the different towns/villages. It was one of those places that draws from you a curiosity, almost a need to know the historical significance and the deep history of it all. The Outer Banks is just too different from today's modern versions of east coast beach towns that you find in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia.
Ray's book touched on a lot of the history and lifestyle of the people who live on Hatteras Island, explaining how life used to be and how, even up until recently, it was a living page out of the history books. While some of the narrative, mainly the quotes and opinions of the "old-timers" could seem a bit whiny ("back in my day...") the book explained very clearly how Hatteras Island has almost entirely avoided the hussle bussle of commercial tourism traps, rapid beachfront development, and modern chain stores and restaurants. It also goes into detail the involvement of the locals in the civil war, how the land shifts, and gives a good, almost completely non-biased opinion on the relationship between the locals and the government's attempts to preserve (much through trial and error) the villages as much as possible.
Reading this after spending a week there only made me want to go back and discover more. The book opens up enough knowledge for someone that is not a local or a regular visitor to take a visit and really indulge in a wealth of fun history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anybody who has any interest in learning how an entire 50 mile stretch of communities can still keep a grasp on their heritage and pride while balancing an influx of tourism that has seems to do more help than harm.
I'd give it 4.5 stars if GoodReads allowed it.
Ray's book touched on a lot of the history and lifestyle of the people who live on Hatteras Island, explaining how life used to be and how, even up until recently, it was a living page out of the history books. While some of the narrative, mainly the quotes and opinions of the "old-timers" could seem a bit whiny ("back in my day...") the book explained very clearly how Hatteras Island has almost entirely avoided the hussle bussle of commercial tourism traps, rapid beachfront development, and modern chain stores and restaurants. It also goes into detail the involvement of the locals in the civil war, how the land shifts, and gives a good, almost completely non-biased opinion on the relationship between the locals and the government's attempts to preserve (much through trial and error) the villages as much as possible.
Reading this after spending a week there only made me want to go back and discover more. The book opens up enough knowledge for someone that is not a local or a regular visitor to take a visit and really indulge in a wealth of fun history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anybody who has any interest in learning how an entire 50 mile stretch of communities can still keep a grasp on their heritage and pride while balancing an influx of tourism that has seems to do more help than harm.
I'd give it 4.5 stars if GoodReads allowed it.
October 7, 2009
McAllister captures the island life well before the times Hatteras Island was deemed a vacation spot. Life on Hatteras Island is still my idea of peace and tranquility and still not chaotic hubbub of malls, putput golf, carnivals etc. Fishing, shells, sunrise and sunset and Hatteras Island folks!! Then and now.
January 13, 2023
An excellent overview of Hatteras Island history and its residents. As someone who has vacationed there for several years, this is a wonderful book to read to learn more about the island.
October 6, 2013
While visiting Buxton Village Books during my stay in the Outer Banks, specifically Frisco, I was determined to pick up a local book or two as a souvenir. I skimmed several and eventually decided on this because I loved the writing and it happened to be the book most directly about where we were staying. It became a great way to brush up on the history of the area and, even better, extend the vacation in my head, revisiting Hatteras Island in these pages in the days and weeks following my arrival home. The chapters, ranging from history to travelogue to beyond, are meticulously researched and feature dozens of insights from current island residents. Best of all, a lot of the information therein was new to me, and gave me several subjects about which I am now excited to learn more. All in all, I am very pleased with this purchase. However, I am kind of sad that my vacation is over yet again. But now I can go back whenever I want. All I must do is extend a hand toward my bookshelf...
August 12, 2010
Oh what a book.....I picked up an authographed copy while down on a trip to Hatteras. Once I started reading, I could not put it down. From the chapter on the "Ghost Ships" to the lifesaving stations, to the tales of building of Route 12, I found myself reliving the past lives of Hatteras.
A great read for anyone who has been or anyone who dreams of going to Hatteras. I highly recommend the book and this vacation spot.
Here is one of my favorite passages....
"Hatteras Highway 12 offers a different experience each time to those looking for it....waves crashing to the left, the sun setting over the sound to the right, storms on the dune line, sea gulls gliding over the water. It can move at a maddeningly slow pace during the summer....yet somehow it always seems to take one off the island too quickly"
A great read for anyone who has been or anyone who dreams of going to Hatteras. I highly recommend the book and this vacation spot.
Here is one of my favorite passages....
"Hatteras Highway 12 offers a different experience each time to those looking for it....waves crashing to the left, the sun setting over the sound to the right, storms on the dune line, sea gulls gliding over the water. It can move at a maddeningly slow pace during the summer....yet somehow it always seems to take one off the island too quickly"
August 2, 2011
In preparing for our summer vacation to the Outer Banks, this was a good book to provide some history and make the places come alive. I learned a great deal, and that made me appreciate the island more while there sightseeing.
August 15, 2019
Interesting enough but doesn't really cover any territory not covered by other Hatteras classics.
May 20, 2018
A tour through the most mysterious and alluring part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks – Hatteras Island. I recently visited there for the first time (thanks Laurie and Doug!) and picked up this gem of a book at Buxton Village Books on the island at the recommendation of Gee Gee Roselle, the store owner. Who wants to live on this storm-buffeted paradise? All kinds of people. The geography is intimidating, being just a slim strip of sand in the ocean. “The Hatteras soul…has to do with the spirit of vacationers who would rather come to a run-down cottage than to a luxury resort…it has to do with surf and wind and sun and living an outdoor life.”
It is an intriguing place to visit and I feasted on the history of the place. The book is billed as “a conversation with the island” and takes you from the early Native American settlers to the pirates and shipwrecks and beyond. Much of it today is a National Seashore so it is owned by only the sea and wind. “The island remains populated by just grains of sand, strands of sea grass, various forms of wildlife, and what water overwashes it all during storms.” I like the wildness. I also like to pretend I was there when the Lost Colony arrived in 1588 from Roanoke Island. Are the grey-eyed Indians evidence that the English joined the Indians several generations back? I like the turtle nesting sites and breakfast at the Diamond Shoals Café and walking next to the towering waves. All in all, this book paints a vivid picture of picturesque Hatteras Island life.
It is an intriguing place to visit and I feasted on the history of the place. The book is billed as “a conversation with the island” and takes you from the early Native American settlers to the pirates and shipwrecks and beyond. Much of it today is a National Seashore so it is owned by only the sea and wind. “The island remains populated by just grains of sand, strands of sea grass, various forms of wildlife, and what water overwashes it all during storms.” I like the wildness. I also like to pretend I was there when the Lost Colony arrived in 1588 from Roanoke Island. Are the grey-eyed Indians evidence that the English joined the Indians several generations back? I like the turtle nesting sites and breakfast at the Diamond Shoals Café and walking next to the towering waves. All in all, this book paints a vivid picture of picturesque Hatteras Island life.
August 19, 2020
Having spent 27 summer vacations in Rodanthe (plus a few spring breaks), this proved to be a thorough, engaging, and well-organized (i.e. chapter topics) treatment of a place steeped in legend, tradition, and a whole lot of water & sand. I learned or had clarified many details I'd not known. All presented in a 'beach read tone' (I read it while on the sand myself) but backed by hefty research. The first-person interviews are fun (a few by folks I knew) and seamlessly support the larger narrative. Suitable for any beach and/or or history lover - even if they've never been to NC.
May 27, 2018
This is a nice historical piece on the island. The close-knit community element of the towns was emphasized for me when I found that I’d met two of the interviewees just going about my business when I stayed in Buxton. The chapters are engaging, and I am ever more amazed at the lives of people who have chosen to live on Hatteras indefinitely.
December 1, 2016
Good information. Rather generic, often repeated from other sources.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews