Fifteen years after its publication, the award-winning Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea by Ray McAllister, is back in an updated and expanded 2nd Edition from Beach Glass Books. The new edition is available in signed hardcover, unsigned paperback, and eBook formats. It features larger pages and photographs, as well as more than 100 pages of new material – plus a foreword by renowned author Diane Chamberlain.
The regional best-selling Topsail Island shares the history, people and continuing allure of the beloved North Carolina island with the small-town feel. You'll still find the stories of the missile program, the "Gold Hole," and hurricanes Hazel, Bertha, and Fran. Still here are giant sea turtles, a traveling bear, old-time fishing piers and beach cottages with whimsical names. Here are vacationers, picture takers, surfers and fishermen, and musicians.
The new edition adds the story of the iconic Swing Bridge and its replacement by a sweeping modern bridge. Here, too, is the devastation brought by Hurricane Florence and a pair of large fires. Here is an expanded story of the historic Ocean City "Black beach," alongside newly presented stories of a massive whale carcass dragged to Topsail's shores, an unexpected tornado – and the century-old mystery of the captain found inside his wrecked ship, a bullet through his head. Finally, you'll see how the continuing "Topsail" feel is nourished by small-town shops and festivities that keep alive the island's allure. Here are the many who share their love of Topsail.
