Into the Sound Country - by Bland Simpson (Paperback)

About the Book

The story of two North Carolinians returning to seek their roots in the state's eastern provinces, "Into the Sound Country" offers an affectionate, impressionistic, and personal portrait of the coastal plain and its richly varied natural world, as seen by two natives of the region. 61 illustrations. 3 maps.

Book Synopsis

Into the Sound Country is a story of rediscovery -- of two North Carolinians returning to seek their roots in the state's eastern provinces. It is an affectionate, impressionistic, and personal portrait of the coastal plain by two natives of the region, writer Bland Simpson and photographer Ann Cary Simpson.

Here Bland Simpson tours his old waterfront haunts in Elizabeth City, explores scuppernong vineyards from Hertford to Southport, tramps through Pasquotank swamps and Croatan pine savannas, and visits Roanoke River oyster bars and Core Banks fishing shanties. Ann Simpson's original photographs capture both the broad vistas of the sounds and rivers and the quieter corners of mossy creeks and country churchyards. Her selection of archival illustrations ranges from the informative to the humorous, from a turpentine scraper at work in the 1850s to a pair of little girls playing with a horseshoe crab on a Beaufort porch at the turn of the century.

A memorable journey into eastern Carolina's richly varied natural world, Into the Sound Country is for anyone who would spend a while in one of America's most intriguing and underexplored areas.

Review Quotes

"A lyrical and passionate portrayal of eastern North Carolina. . . . Part autobiography, memoir, travelogue, history, fisherman's guide and environmentalist's goad, Into the Sound Country is an important work. . . . Beautifully written and intelligently produced."--Charlotte Observer

"A special portrait of a special region."--Virginian-Pilot

"For anyone seeking a memorable journey into Eastern North Carolina's varied natural world, a reading of this volume should prove gratifying."--Our State

"I love reading this book. It captures the sights and sounds and smells of the North Carolina coast better than any book I've ever read."--Pat Conroy

"If you've lived the city life all your years or visited only the prime tourist spots on the coast, Simpson will introduce you to a North Carolina you've never experienced. He easily juxtaposes the crazy clutter of coastal towns and cities with the simple serenity of lowland swampscapes. The narrative is . . . delightful."--Coastwatch

"Simpson is clearly a talented writer, and many of the sections about the coastal plain's natural areas contain beautiful passages. . . . Like coffee and beer, the sound country, with its jumbled forests and sulfurous waters, is something for which you have to develop a taste. Most people never bother. Together the Simpsons succeed in showing us why the region is worth taking some adventurous sips."--News & Observer

"Simpson's books are exactly the sort that best marry reading and travel . . . diving deep into [his place's] history, ranging wide into its mythology, digging scientifically into its geography and speculating far into its future."--The Independent

"This is a wonderful book for anyone seeking a memorable journey into Eastern North Carolina's varied natural world without venturing outside your den."--Winston-Salem Journal

"This son of the South has created a very entertaining read. . . . Into the Sound Country is a lark through a neglected but fascinating region of North Carolina. [A] captivating look at Carolina's coastal plain."--Greensboro News & Record

"With the ease of an old storyteller and the knowledge of a naturalist, Simpson writes eloquently of coastal history, combining it with personal anecdotes."--Creative Loafing

About the Author

Bland Simpson, who teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is author of The Great Dismal and The Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey. A member of the Red Clay Ramblers, the internationally acclaimed string band, he has collaborated on such musicals as Diamond Studs, Fool Moon, Kudzu, and King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running. Ann Cary Simpson has worked for a number of conservation groups, including the Nature Conservancy, the Environmental Defense Fund, Ducks Unlimited, Conservation Trust for North Carolina, and N.C. Coastal Land Trust. She is associate director of development for the Institute of Government in Chapel Hill.