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He Put It on the Map

Long before the Outer Banks became a premier vacation destination lined with rental palaces, boutique hotels, and upscale eateries, it was something entirely different—wild, remote, windswept, and largely unknown. Picture miles of open dunes, a few hardy family-run motels, and barely a phone in sight beyond the pay phones outside small stores. A few thousand visitors came each year. Most of America had barely heard of the place.

So how did the Banks transform from an isolated stretch of sand into a world-class getaway that now welcomes more than 5 million visitors annually? The answer begins with one remarkable, nearly forgotten man.

Aycock Brown—slight in build, enormous in heart—was the visionary who almost single-handedly introduced the Outer Banks to the world. From his work during the World War II U-boat attacks just offshore to the vivid images he captured through the 1980s, Brown shaped the national imagination of what the Banks could be. His photographs didn’t just document the region—they sold its magic.

Veteran Outer Banks authors Nancy Beach Gray and John Railey bring Brown’s story to life using intimate interviews with those who knew him, his personal papers, and—most importantly—his vast archive of thousands of photographs. Their work offers the first in-depth portrait of the man who turned a remote coastal frontier into an iconic American destination.

Take a trip back through 10,000 years of Missouri history.

Wherever you live in the Show-Me State, chances are good that someone was there thousands of years before—a member of one of the many ancient civilizations that called Missouri home. These include the Hopewells, who built large towns throughout the Kansas City area; the Mississippians, who built cities with towering pyramids and large plazas along that great river, especially around St. Louis (nicknamed “Mound City” for that reason in the early nineteenth century) and the Bootheel; the Oneontas, who built massive hilltop enclosures along the Missouri River in central Missouri; the Niúachis (Missourias), for whom the state is named; the Osages and Illiniweks (Illinois), who lived in towns in southwest and northeast Missouri; and the artists who carved marvels in stone at Thousand Hills and Washington State Parks, all of which you can see today, absolutely free.

Author Neal W. Fandek guides Missourians on a tour of ancient wonders in their own backyard.  

A Guide to Historic Alexandria explores Alexandria, Virginia’s remarkable story—one intertwined with the story of America.

From lands once traveled by Indigenous peoples to the surveying of its streets by a young George Washington, Alexandria has long been shaped by the Potomac River’s pull. As the nation grew, its proximity to the Federal City placed it at the center of political, economic, and social change from the American Revolution through the civil rights movement and beyond. Today, Alexandria’s neighborhoods reveal this history. From Gadsby’s Tavern Museum in Old Town to Ben Brenman Pond in the West End, each neighborhood has important landmarks, big and small. Incorporating the newest research with historic and modern photographs, this updated edition reveals Alexandria’s evolution across centuries and celebrates a city whose past continues to shape the character of the Commonwealth and the nation.

He Put It on the Map

Long before the Outer Banks became a premier vacation destination lined with rental palaces, boutique hotels and upscale eateries, it was something entirely different—wild, remote, windswept, and largely unknown. Picture miles of open dunes, a few hardy family-run motels, and barely a phone in sight beyond the payphones outside small stores. A few thousand visitors came each year. Most of America had barely heard of the place.

So how did the Banks transform from an isolated stretch of sand into a world-class getaway that now welcomes more than five million visitors annually? The answer begins with one remarkable, nearly forgotten man.

Aycock Brown—slight in build, enormous in heart—was the visionary who almost singlehandedly introduced the Outer Banks to the world. From his wartime work during the World War II U-boat attacks just offshore to the vivid images he captured through the 1980s, Brown shaped the national imagination of what the Banks could be. His photographs didn’t just document the region—they sold its magic.

Veteran Outer Banks authors Nancy Beach Gray and John Railey bring Brown’s story to life using intimate interviews with those who knew him, his personal papers, and—most importantly—his vast archive of thousands of photographs. Their work offers the first in-depth portrait of the man who turned a remote coastal frontier into an iconic American destination.