Ribbon of Sand

May 4, 1992
North Carolina's Outer Banks region, 180 miles of shifting sands, has both a romantic past--including the lost colony of Roanoke Island, the Wright brothers, pirates and shipwrecks--and a unique natural history. Alexander, a former newspaper editor, and naturalist Lazell, president of the Conservation Agency, examine this fragile ecosystem and unravel an evolutionary mystery. Explaining the actions of ocean currents, winds and waves, they show how island contours change, how inlets open and close. They describe the fauna and flora of maritime forests and beaches and search for a rare Ocracoke king snake, sticticeps. Their finding it yields an engrossing story of field science and discloses a remarkable example of relatively recent co-evolution (snake, rice rat, warmyrtle) . The authors also chart the changes brought by development of the island. As natural history or as description of barrier islands, this book leaves the reader with a clear sense of place and an understanding of the forces of wind and water. Illustrations.

June 1, 1992
In a popular style of science writing that will appeal to lay readers, the authors discuss the history, geography, and ecology of North Carolina's Outer Banks in the context of barrier island geology and ecology. Among the topics they explore are the interactions of wind, sea, sand, and land on the Outer Banks, the influence of the Gulf Stream, geological development, and the ecological role of the maritime forest. Line drawings of native flora and fauna and maps (not seen) accompany the text. Alexander, a journalist, and Lazell, a scientist, love the unspoiled Outer Banks and warn of possible threats to the area. A useful supplement to more specialized studies (Orrin H. Pilkey's From Currituck to Calabash, Duke Univ. Pr, 1982, and Paul V. Godfrey's Barrier Island Ecology of Cape Lookout National Seashore and Vicinity, N. Carolina, G.P.O., 1976), this work is suitable for natural history collections in public and academic libraries.-- Judith B. Barnett, Pell Marine Science Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston

Copyright 1992 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 1992
You might not think of North Carolina's Outer Banks as very interesting, since what can one say about miles and miles of sand? But Alexander and Lazell prove there's more than just sand there. Though two historical events (the Wright brothers' first flight and the life and death of the notorious pirate Blackbeard) are chronicled in these pages, it is the ecological and geological profiles that make the book most valuable. The Outer Banks is a unique formation in that the convergence of currents, winds, waves, and sand form islands and dunes the likes of which can't be found anywhere else on the earth. As you might suspect, life adapts to these surroundings, and the authors take the time to explain its hows and whys in these strange environs. In many ways, this is a guidebook to be taken along when exploring this fragile place that deserves to be preserved. ((Reviewed May 1, 1992))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1992, American Library Association.)