Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Sentinel of the Shoals

By Dawson Carr

Book Overview

Since 1871 the Cape Hatteras lighthouse has been a welcome sight for sailors entering the treacherous region off North Carolina's Outer Banks known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. At 208 feet high, it is the tallest lighthouse in the country and one of the state's most famous landmarks. Through the years, it has withstood the ravages of both humans and nature, weathering numerous violent storms and two wars. But perhaps the gravest threat the structure faced in recent history was the erosion of several hundred yards of beach that once stood between it and the ocean. As powerful tides and rising sea levels increasingly endangered the lighthouse's future, North Carolinians debated fiercely over how best to save it, eventually deciding on a controversial plan to move the beacon inland to safety.
First published by UNC Press in 1991, this book tells the story of the noble lighthouse from its earliest history to the present day. In this new edition, Dawson Carr details the recent relocation of the treasured landmark. For now, it seems, North Carolinians have succeeded in protecting their lighthouse, as it has protected them for over a century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080784876X
• ISBN13: 9780807848760
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Most enjoyable book I've read

The best book I've read on the lighthouse. Can't wait to buy the revised copy that includes the moving of the lighthouse. Mr. Carr is very knowledgeable on the history of this wonderful lighthouse. I've lived in North Carolina for many years and thought of the lighthouse as near the beach. Can't wait to visit it with all the knowledge I have now. Thank you Dawson Carr for a wonderful book. A double thumbs up to you.

Interesting and informative for NC history buffs/teachers!

I have been a resident of North Carolina all my life, but unfortunately never really had much of an education in the history of my state. I have taken it upon myself to become more knowledgeable in this genre. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Sentinel of the Shoals is an easy-to-read book which gives the entire history of the lighthouses. (Until I read the book I never knew there had been more than one Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.) This book describes in detail the importance of the lighthouse to mariners and those living on the NC coast. Considering the wealth of information and the length of this book, I find it a wonderful resource for NC History teachers to use in the classroom. It's also a wonderful book for those of us who do not teach history classes, but yearn for knowledge about the "Old North State." The next book I plan to read about North Carolina will be Dawson Carr's second book, Gray Phantoms of the Cape Fear, which describes the importance of the ships called blockade runners during the Civil War.