Ocracoke by Alton Ballance (1989) is the essential text on the island. Ballance grew up here and writes about the community's long history with the intimacy of a native and the clarity of someone who knows it needs explaining to outsiders. The book covers the island's geography, its people, the fishing culture, and the long slide from isolation into tourism. Nothing else comes close for understanding what this place actually is.
Blackbeard the Pirate: A Reappraisal of His Life and Times by Robert E. Lee (1974) is the most thorough account of Edward Teach's career and death. Lee draws on the original trial records and naval accounts to separate the legend from the history. The final chapters on the battle at Ocracoke Inlet are essential reading before visiting Springer's Point.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina by David Stick (1958) is a classic of American regional history, covering the entire chain of barrier islands from Corolla to Ocracoke. Stick was a journalist and historian who spent his life on the Outer Banks, and his account of the shipwrecks, storms, lifesaving stations, and communities that shaped the coast is meticulous and absorbing. Required reading for anyone spending more than a day on the Banks.