Books

Books Uniquely Ocracoke Gifts Posters & Art Music & DVD

The OPS Museum gift shop has a nice selection of books, featuring local authors, Cookbooks, History, War, Portsmouth Island & Shelling. Click on an image to see larger Photo and hover over picture to see a description about the book. You can adjust the quantities for each item once they are in the Shopping cart.

 

A Blessed Life paperback $15.95 Story of Ocracoke Island paperback $13.95 Wild Pony Island paperback $19.95 War Zone paperback $24.95
If you've ever chatted with Della in person, what you'll notice about her book is that she writes just like she talks. Her voice is rich with all the cadences of the Ocracoke Brogue, and it rings through the pages as you read. Interspersed with a plentiful helping of old photos, A Blessed Life offers today's Ocracoke resident or visitor a glimpse into the past before ferries, paved roads, and a tourist-based economy. This is a timeless collection of stories and illustrations of Ocracoke through the years. When Rick Landon and his family moved from a crowded big-city tenement district to a remote island off the North Carolina coast, he found himself in a strange new world. The tiny village of Ocracoke was different from anything Rick had known, and at first he hated it. Then slowly he began to change his mind as he got to know the friendly young people there. The seasons of the year raced by, filled with new experiences---learning about the many sea birds that made the island their home, fishing and hunting, exploring the beaches in all kinds of weather, battling wild winds that swept the tiny island from time to time---but most fascinating of all was studying the ways of the wild ponies that roamed the island, and, as a member of the mounted Boy Scout troop, breaking and riding the beautiful palomino colt, Dandelion. War Zone is the story of the time the enemy entered America's front door unhindered, when the United States suffered but overcame the German U-boat menace. For seven months, black smoke and orange flames from torpedoed vessels filled the ocean skies from New England to New Orleans. Explosions rattled window panes and the nerves of coastal residents. Beaches were awash with wreckage, oil, empty lifeboats, and bodies. The majority of these attacks occurred off the North Carolina coast. War Zone is a classic American story told from the perspective of everyday people who daily faced daunting challenges with perseverance, patriotism, and uncommon valor. Shocking, emotionally stirring, humorous, and ironic, War Zone preserves these memories of the greatest generation of Americans living on the coast of North Carolina in 1942.
Ocracoke in the Fifties paperback $19.95
 		Digging up Uncle Evans paperback $14.95
 Howard Street Hauntings paperback $14.95
 Black Beard paperback $24.95
 First and foremost, it is a tribute to one of Dare's favorite places. It is also a time capsule of a unique island culture just past the midpoint of the twentieth century. And surprisingly, it is a testament to the timelessness of Ocracoke which would please Dare immensely. Ocracoke has seen its share of changes, to be sure, but readers will have no trouble recognizing the durable little island off the North Carolina coast.  Ocracoke Island is a magical place. For more than three hundred years, pirates, sailors, ship captains, castaways, renegades, and assorted other eccentrics have called. Be prepared to meet the elusive ghost who prowls the halls of one of Ocracoke's vintage hotels. Delve into the history of North Carolina's oldest operating lighthouse. Trace the dynamic natural forces that continue to shape the village and the island. Explore traditional stories of spectral visitors, tokens of death, and murders of passion. Follow the development of the island's earliest schools. Relive the fearsome 1837 wreck of the elegant steamboat Home. Read about a young islander's astonishing dream of death. All these tales and more come alive in Digging up Uncle Evans, stories based on Philip's popular Down Point Ghost & History Walk. Ocracoke home. In this volume you will encounter compelling island history, eerie ghost stories, intriguing maritime legends, and gripping local tales, all collected and told by Philip Howard, eighth generation descendant of William Howard, Blackbeard's quartermaster and last colonial owner of Ocracoke Island.  Within these pages you will encounter legendary island characters, including Old Diver, the unfortunate seafarer whose ghost prowls graveyards on British Cemetery Rd, Mad Mag, a long dead Ocracoke housewife whose particular ways continue to frighten islanders, and the green ghost who haunts Howard Street in the half light of a dying day.  When Black Beard arrived in North Carolina in 1718, he commanded one of the most powerful pirate fleets in history- 400 men aboard four ships, including his prized, cannon-studded flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge. But in a stunning reversal of fortunes, everything suddenly went wrong. Six months later, when Black Beard was cornered and killed at Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, he was in the company of just 20 men and the only treasure found in his possession was some sugar, cocoa, cotton and a mysterious letter. What happened during Black Beard's last days that precipitated his demise? Who, truly, was Edward Teach, aka Black Beard, and from whence did he come? What was his true name? And what happened to his treasure? For more than 35 years, researcher, author and filmmaker, Kevin Duffus has followed the wake of the pirate captain's journey through history. Along the way, Duffus observed that many historical accounts describing the pirate's last days-the six months following the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge at Beaufort Inlet-were inaccurate, insufficiently researched, and, as it turned out, not nearly as interesting as the truth.
 U-Boats Off the Outer Banks $21.99  Voices from the Outer Banks  paperback $12.95 Chicamacomico paperback $15.95 Gull Island paperback $15.95
 Voices from the Outer Banks presents the varied history of North Carolina's barrier islands from the Virginia border through Cape Lookout. Using the words of the participants, it draws from memories, letters, news articles, and other primary sources.  Chicamacomico transports us back to an earlier time on the Outer Banks, when folks on these isolated islands lived by their wits and determination. Without conveniences we take for granted today, they relied on sailing ships to bring supplies and deliver mail. Life saving teams trained constantly, ready to rescue passengers and crew from the frequent shipwrecks off the coast Gull Island transports us back to Hatteras during the 1950s before the Bonner Bridge crossed Oregon Inlet. Elvin Hooper does a wonderful job of painting a picture of life on the island during that time of more primative years.
 The U.S. Life-Saving Service Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard $27.95  Ten Thousand Breakfasts paperback $18.00  Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks paperback $21.95  Graveyard of the Atlantic paperback $20.95
 Start with portions of memoir, photography, spiritual awareness, recipes, storytelling, and business notes. Add giant servings of pure nature, wilderness beach, island life, arts, humor, and lots of great people. Let these ingredients marinate in moonlight and bright island sun. Simmer together and sample the flavors emerging during thirty years at Oscar's House Bed and Breakfast on Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Author Ann Ehringhaus shares how personal and spiritual adventures enriched both her life and business in ways she never dreamed. Enjoy this engaging story of everyday awakenings, tasty reflections, and lots of unexpected moments!   As many visitors to Ocracoke will attest, the island's vibrant dialect is one of its most distinctive cultural features. In Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks, Walt Wolfram and Natalie But Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks is more than a linguistic study. Based on extensive interviews with more than seventy Ocracoke residents of all ages and illustrated with captivating photographs by Ann Ehringhaus and Herman Lankford, the book offers valuable insight on what makes Ocracoke special. In short, by tracing the history of island speech, the authors succeed in opening a window on the history of the islanders themselves. Schilling-Estes present a fascinating account of the Ocracoke brogue. They trace its development, identify the elements of pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax that make it unique, and even provide a glossary and quiz to enhance the reader's knowledge of 'Ocracokisms.' In the process, they offer an intriguing look at the role language plays in a culture's efforts to define and maintain itself.  This is a factual account, written with the pace of fiction, of hundreds of dramatic losses, heroic rescues, and violent adventures at the stormy meeting place of Northern and Sothern winds and waters-The Graveyard of the Atlantic off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
 Gaskills spiral $45.00  Seashells of NC. spiral $12.00  Ocracoke Brogue paperback  $4.95  Paradise Lost paperback $21.95
 Thomas Christopher Gaskill was the first Gaskill to arrive on Ocracoke Island with his family after the 1790 Census and before 1800 from Carteret County, North Carolina, which means they have been prominent on the island for about 210 years and have been involved and helped the Island get to where it is today.  All about North Carolina Seashells, scientific information along with pictures, habitat, range & descriptions  Written by Ellen Marie Fulcher and Agnes Wren discussing all about the dialect of the Ocracokers.  An oral history of Portsmouth Island, NC
Currently Out Of Stock
Portsmouth Island Walk in the Past paperback $21.95 Portsmouth Divided paperback $10.00  Ocracoke The Pearl of the Outer Banks $22.95 Cape Hatteras National Seashore paperback $21.99
James White carefully and lovingly researched for years in preparation for this wonderful book about Portsmouth Island. His research included delving into official records and other historical works as well as interviews with family members of island descendants. This book is full of photographs of people and places and will be especially helpful to those who have family that lived at Portsmouth Island. Portsmouth divided discusses the roles of both Union and Condederate forces as they captured and occupied Portsmouth Island and the support of the people who lived there.    Douglas Stover served as cutural recourses manager and historian at Cape Hatteras Nation Seashore and, after 32 years, retired from the National Park Service in 2013. He served as an author and editor of several publications and historical studies. Images for this book are collected from the National Park Archives. This book feature fantastic historical photos from the Outer Banks including Ocracoke.
Currently Out Of Stock
North Carolina Lighthouses & Lifesaving Stations paperback $21.99  Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks paperback $24.95  Ocracoke by Carl Goerch paperback $12.95  The History of Fort Ocracoke in Pamlico Sound paperback $19.99
North Carolina Lighthouses and Lifesaving Stations presents to readers the tales behind the lighthouses, illuminating their past in both word and image. John John Hairr, lifelong NC resident and lighthouse enthusiast, as he takes a photographic voyage to these remarkable lights on the edge of the great, uncompromising sea.  This is a visual record of shipwrecks and their legacy-lifesaving, salvage, rumors or wreckers, and the hundreds of forgotten shipwreck victims buried among the dunes. Duffus shares GPS coordinates of famous and deadly wrecks, as well as places to still see remains of shipwrecks today are also featured. Kevin Duffus, author.ains    Pamlico Sound is one of the most storied bodies of water among North carolina's Outer Banks. Early colonists to Roanoke Island used it for protection. Blackbeard the pirate was killed there in 1718, and General Washington relied on it for transportation in the Revolutionary War. It wasn't a surprise, then, that the Confederate bastion of Fort Ocracoke was built in those same waters. Said to be capable of mounting fifty guns, the Fort was part of the coastal defense system of the state. After Union victories on nearby Hatteras Island, the fort was destroyed and its whereabouts lost for generations. Author Robert K Smith led an archaeological mission to find the once lost fort and presents the harrowing story of its past and discovery for the first time.
Ship Ashore paperback $12.00 The Civil War in Coastal NC paperback $18.00 In Some Foreign Field paperback $10.00 Ocracokers paperback $20.95
Ship Ashore begins with a discussion of shipwrecks and rescue efforts along the North Carolina coast in the colonial and antebellum periods. The study continues with the background and establishment of the US Lifesaving service, a federal programs created in 1874 to provide assistance to distressed ships along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The service's early efforts in North carolina are recounted, and the equipment and rescue procedures utilized by service personnel are explained in great detail. Includes dramatic accounts of numerous shipwrecks, 75 illustrations and rich maritime history make this a great one! The Civil War in coastal North Carolina portrays the explosive events that took place on the North carolina coast during America's great sectional conflict. In Some Foreign Field is the story of the British anti-submarine trawler HMS Bedfordshire and the German submarine U-558. Off Cape Lookout on the night of May 11, 1942, the submarine torpedoed the Bedfordshire. The resulting explosion destroyed the ship and killed her thirty seven crewmen. Only 4 bodies were recovered, and these were interred in a cemetery on Ocracoke Island. Over the years, the cemetery has become a special place for coastal North carolinians, many of whom could recall personally the dangers that lurked along the Outer Banks during World War II  When Ballance was growing up on Ocracoke in the 1960s and 1970s, the number of year-round residents hovered around 500. Now Ocracoke is a major tourist attraction visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. As tourism has flourished, the island has become less isolated, and Ballance discusses the consequences of this development for both islander and visitor. The modernization that accompanies tourism has provided the many benefits for the island, among them better health care and schooling and more jobs. Nonetheless, the Ocracoke of old is rapidly disappearing. This book is a tribute to that Ocracoke and her people. Alton Ballance 247 pages
Southern Outer Banks Cape Lookout $45.00 On This Day in OBX History $14.95 Outer Banks Scenic Byway $21.95  Outer Banks Shipwrecks Graveyard of the Atlantic $21.99
Signed Large 9x12, 305 glossy pages. This book is a photographic history of North Carolina's Outer Banks between Ocracoke Inlet and Beaufort Inlet. Once called the A slice of OBX History for each day of the year, 380 glorious pages of historical tidbits by Sarah Downing The Outer Banks National Scenic Byway stretches the length of North Carolina's 200 mile barrier islands. The route is entered from the north at Whalebone Junction in Nags Head, NC and from South at the North River Bridge on US 70 East, just past Beaufort, NC. This book explores the region's rich maritime history, culture and traditions, such as boat building, decoy carving, fishing, lighthouse keeping and living with the powerful forces of water and wind.  Outer Banks Shipwrecks: Graveyard of the Atlantic
The Hoofprints Guide to The Wild Horses of Ocracoke $12.99 Living at the Water’s Edge $22.00 The Wild Horse Dilemma $36.00 Ocracoke Memories        $47.00
Product Details Product Details  
Currently Out Of Stock

 

Cook Books

Ocracoke Cookbook (Orig) spiral $13.95 Ocracoke Island Recipes spiral $17.95 Cafe Atlantic Cook Book spiral $15.95 by Ruth Toth
 Back Porch Cookbook paperback $19.95 by Debbie Wells
The Ladies at the United Methodist Church in Ocracoke, NC put all of their recipes together and created this cookbook. Each recipe is unique and very flavorful Traditional and contemporary recipes contributed by old timers, part timers, new timers and their friends, family and visitors. A collection of recipes used by Cafe Atlantic, a beloved little restaurant on Ocracoke Island, on the North Carolina's Outer Banks  The Back Porch Restaurant is located on the southernmost tip of North Carolina's Outer Banks on Ocracoke Island. In this book, Debbie Wells shares the recipes that make the Back Porch one of the Outer Banks most popular restaurants.

 

Children’s Books

Little Sea Horse $7.95 by Pat Garber
 Mermaid Coloring Book $7.95 Wild Horses Coloring Book $7.95 Pirates Coloring Book $7.95
 Little Sea Horse and the Story of the Ocracoke Ponies shares information about the ponies in the context of a charming story about an island girl, her pony, and her mysterious dream surrounding the ponies' origins.  Dover's premium quality stained glass coloring books are printed on translucent pages that glow when colored and taped to windows or help up to other light sources. To create different effects, experiment with crayons, markers, paints, and other media.  Dover's premium quality stained glass coloring books are printed on translucent pages that glow when colored and taped to windows or help up to other light sources. To create different effects, experiment with crayons, markers, paints, and other media.  Dover's premium quality stained glass coloring books are printed on translucent pages that glow when colored and taped to windows or help up to other light sources. To create different effects, experiment with crayons, markers, paints, and other media.
Currently Out Of Stock
 Ocracoke Island Coloring Book $10. The Sea Snake $19.95 Phantom of the Blockade $19.95  The Voyage of the Javelin $19.95
 Island Village coloring book for all ages created by local resident, Mary Skerritt-Vankevich. Featuring local artists to Ocracoke, 24 pages of island inspired scenes to color. 8.5 x 11 Made in the USA Product Details Product Details  Product Details
 
Taffy of Torpedo Junction $14.95  Teach’s Light A Tale of Blackbeard the Pirate $14.95 Joey Goes to Sea $9.95
Product Details  Product Details
Currently Out Of Stock  

Proudly powered by WordPress . Theme: multipurpose shop by eDataStyle.