Book excerpt: The Coasts of Carolina captures the vibrancy of the North Carolina oceanfront, sound country, and interior shores behind the barrier islands. Scott Taylor, who has been photographing the coast for almost thirty years, and Bland Simpson, whose many coastal books have delighted readers for two decades, come together to offer an inviting visual and textual portrait organized around coastal themes such as nature, fishing, and community life, with an emphasis on particular places and seasons. Evocative text is woven together with 145 vivid color images to present a unique and welcoming vision of the coastal region. As natives of the area, the collaborators venture beyond the familiar to show us swamp, marsh, river, sound, and seashore, uncovering places of uncommon delight that most visitors rarely lay eyes on. Their work celebrates the beauty of this amazing region and embodies their distinctive sense of what makes the North Carolina coast so special.