BOONE—Anne Mitchell Whisnant, author of “Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History,” will be featured in a public lecture, book signing and reception on Wednesday, Oct.17, at Appalachian State University. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in room 114 of Carol Grotnes Belk Library and Information Commons.

Photo by David Whisnant

Whisnant’s book, published by the University of North Carolina Press, is the first comprehensive history of the Blue Ridge Parkway to appear in 37 years.

Timothy Silver, author of “Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains: An Environmental History of the Highest Peaks in Eastern America,” says, “[Super-Scenic Motorway] is must reading for anyone interested in the southern Appalachians, tourism, national parks, and our ongoing struggle to create a place for ourselves in nature.”

Whisnant received her M.A. and Ph.D. in history from UNC Chapel Hill, specializing in the history of the American South. Her love of the Blue Ridge Parkway began as a child spending summers at Lake Junaluska United Methodist Assembly. She began studying the parkway in 1991, and now serves on the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Since July 2006, Whisnant has been director of research, communications and programs for the Office of Faculty Governance at UNC Chapel Hill. She and her husband, David, also run a historical consulting service called Primary Source History Services.

This event is sponsored by Appalachian’s Academic Affairs External Scholars Fund, University Liaison to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Heltzer Honors Program and Department of History.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information about Whisnant and “Super-Scenic Motorway,” visit www.superscenic.com or http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-5048.html.

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