I heard an interview with author Joanna C. Scott on NC TV (UNCTV--Book Watch) recently. The author of a novel explained how she researched her book, explaning how she uncovered many facts (as background) about race relations and social conditions during the Civil War in Piedmont NC. I found the book at my local library. I can't say that this is a great novel but I found it interesting in the historical detail about social conditions and race relations, especially since a large portion takes place in Salisbury, where much of my family lived during the Civil War. It was not a pleasant time there with many shortages and the townspeople torn between pro-war and abolitionist factions in the late stages of the Civil War. It also touches on Chapel Hill, Gold Hill and the gold mine, and a little on Greensboro. In case you do not like fiction, you might want to read these pages about life in Salisbury itself. pp. 167-167; 221-227; 250-261; 270-279; 295-303 General readers might want to read the whole book, which I found interesting. Whether you want to trust the historical research, it is up to you--as is true with any work of history, whether fiction or non-fiction. The Road from Chapel Hill by Joanna Cathrine Scott Berkley Books, London & New York, 2006 ISBN 0-425-21252-1 Betty Pace