Depending on your perspective, the unique geography of North Carolina's upper coast is either a blessing or a curse. The pirate Blackbeard loved the area for its countless hideaways. Shippers feared it for the deadly shoals of the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Entrepreneurs grew frustrated with its shallow sounds and changeable inlets and established major ports elsewhere.

That geography may have been bad business in years past, but it is a boon to modern-day visitors, who enjoy a coastline relatively unspoiled by development.

People know North Carolina's upper coast for the Outer Banks, the Lost Colony, the Wright brothers, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the classic lighthouses at Currituck Beach, Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras, and Ocracoke. They are probably less familiar with such treasures as Edenton, Somerset Place, Oriental, the nation's original Washington, and Corolla, with its herd of wild ponies.

Covering the famous and the obscure alike, the 11 tours in this volume will introduce readers to the history and lore of an unforgettable place.