Howard E. Covington, Jr.

I started reading this book several months ago, then put it aside. Recently I picked it up again and could hardly put it down. Sometimes I think the reader simply needs to be ready for the story.

We visited Biltmore two years ago, and this time I was easily caught up in the story finding it fascinating. It is the story of William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil's struggle to save his grandfather's chateau from financial ruin and create a revenue stream to not only save it, but to preserve and improve it for future generations.… (más)

From his efforts to improve public education and race relations in North Carolina to his success in transforming Duke into one of the top universities in the country, Terry Sanford left an indelible impact upon both the North Carolina and the nation. In this book, Howard Covington and Marion Ellis provide a sympathetic account of Sanford’s life. Using an impressive array of sources, including Sanford’s papers and interviews with Sanford and dozens of other figures, the authors chronicle his life and times, from his childhood in Laurinburg to his years as governor, university president, and United States senator.

Yet this is more than just a biography of a great public servant. In seeking to explain Sanford’s achievement, Covington and Ellis provide the context of his life and career. Their subject occasionally recedes into the background as they navigate state politics or describe the issues Sanford faced as president of Duke University. The breadth of understanding they provide is impressive, and makes the book a valuable resource not just for understanding Sanford but the many areas he effected in his lifetime.… (más)