Ribbon of Sand: The Amazing Convergence of the Ocean and the Outer Banks

by John H. Alexander, James Lazell, John Alexander

Book Overview

Wind, currents, tides, and sand. Kingsnakes and rice rats. The disappearance of the Lost Colony, the raids of the pirate Blackbeard, and the Wright brothers' first attempts at flight. The Outer Banks is a place like no other.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0945575327
• ISBN13: 9780945575320
• Release Date: May 1992
• Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

An amazing convergence......

........of history, science, poetry and politics. I can't think of an existing category that this book properly belongs to; perhaps the literature of place, if I create one for it. I don't know of another book that so accurately and beautifully gives a true sense of a real place in all of its complexity. And what a place! A unique treasure that has somehow been substantially preserved while it continues to evolve according to contemporary usage. Not without struggle and controversy, of course. Don't just read the book, go there and experience it in your own way. Using some kind of specific guide book for planning is probably a good idea: I thought "North Carolina Beaches" by Glenn Morris (Chapel Hill) was useful and pleasant.

5 Star Subject, 3 Star Writing

Anyone who has visited the Outer Banks -- and many who have only seen them from the famous 1970-era Apollo space shot -- knows that the islands are unique, fragile, and someday going to be overrun, either by trashy tourism or, eventually, nature. Alexander and Lazell hope, but are hardly convinced, that nature will get the chance to run its long course. Beyond the fascinating subject, the authors' chapter by chapter analysis of the forces that compete on the Banks -- sand, wind, land, forest -- is a clarifying approach to writing about the science of the Banks. In separate chapters, Alexander and Lazell then effectively show how the forces combined to impact Blackbeard's last battle and the Wright Brothers efforts to fly. The final chapter, Convergences, is like reading a decade-early preview of the impact on the islands of Hurricane Isabel. I would call Alexander and Lazell prescient, but I suspect they themselves would be the first to admit they were simply documenting the inevitable future. Only problem with this excellent book is that the writing feels as if it was done either in turn or by compromise, and is often far less compelling than its subject matter. Still, Ribbon of Sand offers some science, some entertainment, and a whole lot of appreciation for this wonderful speck of the world.

Engrossing

I purchased this book to learn more about the Outer Banks, which I have long wished to visit and where we will spend a week this summer. It is an amazingly interesting and informative book. Geology, geography, biology, weather, ecology, politics, and more are all discussed as is the importance of each in relation to the others. I found the book engrossing and would recommend it even if you are not going to this unique area of the world. Now when the kids ask me why there is a forest in the dunes I will be able to tell them and I will be much better able to appreciate the beauty of the place.

Man and Nature on a Tiny Strip of Land

I picked this book up during a recent week's stay on Topsail Island (one of the southernmost of the Outer Banks). Having never read a book on natural history or the ecology, I was prepared for the paper-pulp equivalent of Sominex.Never have I been more wrong in my preconceptions about a book. Ribbon of Sand captures PERFECTLY the true mystique of North Carolina's Outer Banks -- how a half-mile wide band of barrier islands survive both because of nature . . . and in spite of it. Each segment of the book ties together both human and natural history. How the wind the shapes the wonderfully high dunes near Kill Devil provided the Wright Brothers with the means to test their gliders and to develop the first airplane. How shifting tides and currents that continue to shape the Outer Banks both abetted . . . and spelled doom for Blackbeard the Pirate.In short, Ribbon of Sand captured my imagination and instilled in me a greater appreciation for the fragile balance of nature and man on the Outer Banks. I very highly reccomend this book!