In
Down the Wild Cape Fear, novelist and nonfiction writer
Philip Gerard invites readers onto the fabled waters of the Cape
Fear River and guides them on the 200-mile voyage from the
confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers at Mermaid Point all the way
to the Cape of Fear on Bald Head Island. Accompanying the author by
canoe and powerboat are a cadre of people passionate about the
river, among them a river guide, a photographer, a biologist, a
river keeper, and a boat captain. Historical voices also lend their
wisdom to our understanding of this river, which has been a main
artery of commerce, culture, settlement, and war for the entire
region since it was first discovered by Verrazzano in 1524.
Gerard explores the myriad environmental and political issues being
played out along the waters of the Cape Fear. These include
commerce and environmental stewardship, wilderness and development,
suburban sprawl and the decline and renaissance of inner cities,
and private rights versus the public good.