ABOUT THIS BOOK

Miracle Road is a comprehensive account of the origins and rise of Research Triangle Park, which has transformed one of the poorest states in the nation into an economic powerhouse, detailing a fascinating and important case study of urban development in the twenty-first century.

Research Triangle Park in North Carolina (RTP) emerged under the unique circumstances of a poor Southern state that needed to find a way to offset the declining industries of tobacco, furniture, and textiles in the 1950s. Through the sustained commitment of nearby universities, business leaders, and local and state officials, state leaders established the largest science and research park in the United States in an area that was nothing but “possums and pines.” Miracle Road tells this story through the eyes of those at the center of it, like the local black leaders who convinced white officials to desegregate public schools with the justification that it would make the area more appealing to tech companies, or how a chance meeting between the governor and a Danish executive led to North Carolina becoming an epicenter for weight loss drugmakers decades later. Allen Paul and Mack Paul organize the story around major periods in RTP’s growth, showing how RTP came to define the region and the state by the 1990s as well as the major setbacks it encountered in the early 2000s. Breaking down the strategies that led to RTP’s success, like creating new institutions in targeted tech areas to spur activity and factoring quality of life into the regional planning of the area, Miracle Road demonstrates how the story of Research Triangle Park is a fascinating and important case study of urban development in the twenty-first century.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Allen Paul (1939–2026) was the author of From Honey with Love: My Life as a Second-Chance Dog, Katyn: Stalin’s Massacre and the Triumph of Truth, and coauthor of College Sports on the Brink of Disaster: The Rise of Pay-for-Play and the Fall of the Scholar-Athlete.

Mack Paul cofounded Morningstar Law Group, where he is a partner. He teaches land use law at North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University. Mack served as chair of the Greater Triangle Regional Council and has written extensively about the development of the Triangle Region.

REVIEWS

“Few places have shaped how we think about cities, talent, and innovation as profoundly as Research Triangle Park, and no one has told its full story until now. In Miracle Road, Allen and Mack Paul show that RTP was never a one-shot miracle but a decades-long project: universities, business, government, and civic leaders building an innovation ecosystem that lifted a low-wage region into the front rank of the knowledge economy. They write with candor about the challenges that have followed that success—inequality, sprawl, and a research park built for an earlier world—and they pose an essential question for the future: how to transform RTP into a more genuine and connected place for the knowledge and creative age.”
-- Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class

“Mack and Allen Paul have given us an authoritative account of the rise of RTP from bold but uncertain beginnings, to the validation provided by IBM and federal environmental labs, to decades of growth and current efforts at reinvention. Miracle Road is an inspiring and instructive story of cooperative business, educational, and political leadership.”
-- The Honorable David E. Price, Ph.D., North Carolina Representative to U.S. Congress (1987–1995, 1997–2023)

“This book tells the fascinating story of how one of the most important technology hubs of the United States—indeed, the world—was created and thrived for over a half century. It has important lessons for other communities trying to do the same for AI companies and their large data centers. More than local history, it is as guidebook of lessons for public officials. A fascinating story that is well researched and told.”
-- James Cortada, author of IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon

“Miracle Road tells the remarkable story of Research Triangle Park’s ascendancy through the personal contributions, inventions, and discoveries of many. The bold idea for a research park was in doubt in the early 1960’s when I was at NC State. But IBM’s selection of RTP in 1965 validated RTP and laid the foundation for this extraordinary journey.”
-- Smedes York, Chairman of York Properties, Former Raleigh Mayor, and former chair of Research Triangle Foundation

“Discover how North Carolina defied the odds, transforming from ‘brain-drain’ state to global technology titan. Read firsthand accounts of the Triangle’s evolution, where elite academic assets, radical collaborative spirit, and ambition for excellence built the foundation for decades of success. A must-read!”
-- Timothy Humphrey, Provost at Wake Technical Community College

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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