May 09, 2025

8 Great Books About Outer Banks History

Discover the Stories That Shaped the Outer Banks

Blog / OBX Guides
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Summer is almost here and it’s time to pick your perfect beach read! While you’re enjoying your Outer Banks vacation, stop by a local bookstore and dive into the rich history of your favorite coastal getaway.

One new book about the Outer Banks published in 2025 is My Daily Bounded Realm by Robin Daniels Holt, which is a daily journal of life in the Outer Banks during the 1900s. We met with Robin to hear more about the inspiration behind the book. 

We also caught up with Chloe, manager of Downtown Books (and sister store to Duck’s Cottage), who shared her top eight must-reads on Outer Banks history, both fiction and nonfiction. Many of the titles in stock are signed by the authors!

Don’t miss Downtown Books’ lineup of summer events, including author signings. Visit their website for all the details.

Do you love reading on vacation? Check out our Top 10 OBX Homes with a Reading Nook. 

Happy reading and happy beach days!

My Daily Bounded Realm by Robin Daniels Holt 

Author Robin Daniels Holt, a native of Wanchese, NC, stumbled upon a unique book by Lilly Jacobs Baum, the wife of a traveling doctor in Pine Island. Lilly kept a daily diary of her time on the Outer Banks, and it was one brief entry that caught Robin’s attention: simply, “Hog Work.” That two-word glimpse sparked a deep curiosity.

Inspired, Robin began researching her second great-grandmother, Martha, who lived in Salvo in the early 1900s. This resulted in My Daily Bounded Realm, a fictional diary that draws from real newspaper clippings and historical records, a new book that was released in 2025. Written in the style of daily journal entries, the book brings to life the relentless tasks women undertook, chores, and responsibilities that are nearly unimaginable today, all while Martha raised twelve children.

Though fictionalized, the stories are grounded in meticulous research. One memorable moment describes how Martha’s husband, Farrow, installed window screens for the first time; which transformed their home from a place regularly visited by mosquitoes, snakes, and even raccoons into a much more livable space.

Robin wrote this book to preserve a side of history rarely told. While much has been written about Outer Banks Lifesaving heroes, little has focused on the women whose labor and resilience held families and communities together. Robin shared that without these women, we would not have such a rich history. 

Jamie Anderson, owner of Duck’s Cottage and Downtown Books, gave this book “10 stars out of 5” and named it her #1 pick for 2025.

We highly recommend My Daily Bounded Realm for anyone looking to better understand and honor the powerful legacy of Outer Banks women.

More books about Outer Banks’ History 

The Secret Token by Andrew Lawler 

This fiction book, published in 2018, is one of Downtown Book’s bestsellers. This book shares what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke and the 115 men, women, and children who disappeared on Roanoke Island in 1587. The author, Andrew, is local to the Outer Banks.

A sweeping account of America’s oldest unsolved mystery, the people racing to unearth its answer, and the sobering truths–about race, gender, and immigration–exposed by the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina by David Stick 

David Stick is a tried and true author and wrote four books about the Outer Banks. This book is a narrative-style book that gives a broad history from Sir Walter Raleigh to the Wright Brothers, covering 1584-1958.

The Outer Banks have long been of interest to geologists, historians, linguists, sportsmen, and beachcombers. This long series of low, narrow, sandy islands stretches along the North Carolina coast for more than 175 miles.

Manteo: A Roanoke Island Town by Angel Khoury 

This book is all about the town of Manteo, the people who live there, and the history of the town. It’s been out of print for 25 years, but they just brought it back for the town of Manteo’s 125th anniversary. This book is Limited Edition, so make sure you get a copy when you’re here this summer! 

This hardback book has 304 pages, hundreds of photos spanning a century, and 20 chapters celebrating the island’s history and culture.

Check out our interview with Angel Khoury on her book, “Between Tides”.

Excavating Fort Raleigh by Ivor Noël Hume

This book, published in 2014, presents one prediction about what happened to the Lost Colony. It covers the recent digs in Hatteras and discusses where the first settlement went and is written by a famed archaeologist of Colonial America.

Dig into a first-hand account of excavations at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. A small earthen fort on Roanoke Island, traditionally known as Old Fort Raleigh, was the site of the first English colony in the Americas. Previous archaeological discoveries at the site left many questions unanswered by the 1990s. The questions that scholars hoped to answer in an extensive, professional dig funded by National Geographic from 1991 to 1993. This skilled team of excavators–with a little luck–revealed America’s first scientific laboratory, where the Elizabethan scientist Thomas Harriot analyzed North American natural resources and Joachim Gans assayed ores for valuable metals. Famed archaeologist of Colonial America Ivor Noël Hume describes the labor-intensive process of discoveries at Fort Raleigh.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough 

David McCullough is a historian who has written over 25 historical books and is a New York Times bestseller. This book covers the Wright Brothers and their first flight in Kitty Hawk, and how they changed history. Plus, this book covers how their sister, Katharine Wright played a huge part in publicizing their achievement and made sure they made it in the record books.

The #1 New York Times bestseller from David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize—the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly—Wilbur and Orville Wright.

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two brothers—bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio—changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe that the age of flight had begun, with the first powered machine carrying a pilot.

Memories of the Currituck Outer Banks: As Told by Ernie Bowden by Clark Twiddy 

Clark Twiddy’s first book, “Memories of the Currituck Outer Banks: As Told by Ernie Bowden,” details the transformation of the Outer Banks from a remote coastal landscape to the popular vacation destination that it is today through the recollections of Ernie Bowden, a sixth-generation Outer Banker.

Outer Banks Visionaries: Building North Carolina’s Oceanfront by Clark Twiddy 

With each passing summer, the Outer Banks grows in popularity amongst beach-goers looking for the ultimate getaway. But before it was quite literally “on the map,” the OBX was severely isolated. It took years of dreamers, innovators, and risk-takers to transform this remote chain of barrier islands into one of America’s most beloved vacation destinations. The captivating new book by Clark Twiddy, “Outer Banks Visionaries: Building North Carolina’s Oceanfront,” offers readers a compelling look at the individuals and events that shaped this unique part of the United States.

Emily Pack

Emily Pack

May 09, 2025

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