In 1957, St John's High School prepares to send yet another class into the wider world -- an unusual class. Even the Principal finds them interesting, but of course he won't let on. Rumor is rife in Darlington in the '50s because so much is happening. The event that causes the most rumors is missing from COUNTY 1950s CONDENSED. In COUNTY (the original, expanded version), clues appear, but nothing more. COUNTY is written for insiders and for readers who lived in the Pee Dee through the 1950s. COUNTY 1950s CONDENSED is written for outsiders who watched and may even have participated in Darlington's and the Pee Dee's events of the '50s but never lived here. Events like this: the first big-time race track in the world for stock cars --Darlington International Raceway, now known as the Granddaddy of 'em all, the Track Too Tough To Tame. Racing fans will learn from either book. Nothing about the racetrack is Condensed out. But a book written by a teenager is more. It's about life and people, not just parades, beach parties, and the Senior Play. It's about how it feels to live in a coastal plain subject to hurricanes, it's about what a town lives on and how it works, and about unexpected losses and unexpected gains. It's about teenagers, school, and the town that brings them together.