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978-0-89587-214-2
0-89587-214-5
$16.95 paperback
5 1/2" x 8"
232 pages
map, index
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DeBlieu has
written a book that skillfully combines scientific research, history and
astute observation. It is emotionally satisfying as well as educational.
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 1985 Jan DeBlieu moved to
Hatteras Island and took up residence in the old home of one of the
Outer Banks' most historic families. For more than a year she explored
the island's dunes, marshes, waters, and towns to study its complex
natural cycles, its fragile ecosystem, its bird, plant, and marine life,
and the seasonal routines of its stoical residents.
In Hatteras Journal she
writes evocatively of a harsh but alluring world, where "in summer
the sea oats explode with tawny seeds, the black shimmers glide over
Pamlico Sound, the loggerheads heave themselves ashore on silent
nights."
Along with her perceptive
observations about the natural life she encounters, she describes the
futility of former government policies such as dune construction, the
dangers of peat mining to the sounds and bays, the efforts to protect
loggerhead turtles on Bald Head Island, and the evolution of Hurricane
Gloria and its effects on the barrier islands.
This is a vividly rendered
account of the rigors and rewards of dwelling in a habitat where only
the most resilient forms of life--natural and human--manage to prevail.
about the author
Jan DeBlieu is the author of several books and articles whose topics
range from endangered species to wind. She still lives on the Outer
Banks of North Carolina.
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