Ely, Vermelle Diamond, Grace Hoey Drain, and Amy Rogers. Charlotte, NC: Black America Series. Portsmouth, NH: Arcadia Publishing, 2001. In Charlotte, African Americans created societies that were self-sustaining, complete with churches, schools, libraries, hospitals, and businesses. This photo archive details the African-American experience in Charlotte, complete with photos from museum archives and private collections.

Hanchett, Tom W., and Ryan L. Sumner. Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont. Portsmouth, NH: Arcadia Publishing, 2003. Hanchett and Sumner, historians at the Levine Museum of the New South, have compiled a collection of photographs that depict the history of Charlotte. The collection and captions are based on their work for the museum’s award-winning exhibit “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers.”

Lixl, Andreas. Memories of Carolinian Immigrants: Autobiographies, Diaries, and Letters from Colonial Times to Present. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2009. This title focuses on the immigrant experiences in all of North and South Carolina—not just on Charlotte—but the collection of letters, historical documents, and personal accounts of the immigrant experience makes for a compelling read.

Morrill, Dan L. Historic Charlotte: An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. San Antonio, TX: Historical Pub. Network, 2002. Morrill, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina–Charlotte and consulting director for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical Landmarks Commission, writes about the buildings and landscapes that helped shape the city. The book covers more than 400 years of local history and includes special emphasis on issues of economic development and race relations.