A Pleasant Gale on My Lee
by John Morgan
$15.95 paperback, 178 pages
Published: April 2001
ISBN 1880849-31-3

The past fifty years have seen rapid and profound changes in the Pamlico and Outer Banks; changes that author John Morgan, a former journalist and radio broadcaster who grew up in Washington, NC. deftly and humorously portrays in his book, In A Pleasant Gale on My Lee. His observations are made through the eyes of a young boy who grew up on the Washington waterfront and took his first trip to Hatteras at eighteen months aboard the freight boat that ran each week. Growing up during the Great Depression wasn't so bad, says Morgan, "especially if you got to spend summers at Hatteras." From the early history of the Pamlico and Tar Rivers; to what it was lie, living off "a mess of fish" during the lean days of the 1930's; to the devastation of the September 1944 "harricane" as Hatterasmen called it, Morgan's tales are filled with memorable characters, places, and events. According to the author, "some people called me a free spirit, being streetwise and alley wise, and generally getting along well with everyone." His evocative book is all the better for his having been so.

"Morgan has captured the spirit of the Outer Banks.I recommend this book to anyone interested in our region and its people." Marc Basnight, Manteo, N.C., President Pro Tem, N.C. State Senate.

"Must reading about an interesting era of the Pamlico area and Outer Banks of North Carolina," Ashley B. Futrell, Sr. Editor. & Publisher Emeritus, The Washington (NC) Daily News.