Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.17 (569 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B00ZAT8WIS |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 599 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-05-01 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
In a work rich in maritime lore and brimming with original historical detail, Eric Jay Dolin, the best-selling author of Leviathan, presents an epic history of American lighthouses, telling the story of America through the prism of its beloved coastal sentinels.Set against the backdrop of an expanding nation, Brilliant Beacons traces the evolution of America's lighthouse system from its earliest days, highlighting the political, military, and technological battles fought to illuminate the nation's hardscrabble coastlines. He also animates American military history from the Revolution to the Civil War and presents tales both humorous and harrowing of soldiers, saboteurs, Civil War battles, ruthless egg collectors, and, most important, the lighthouse keepers themselves, men and women who often performed astonishing acts of heroism in ca
Shining a Light on American History Again, Eric Jay Dolin has captured my attention. I am a Montauk kid and I grew up in eastern Long Island, a birthing area of early America, in the 1950’s and as I got older gravitated to its abundant and fascinating history. One fascination that remains to this day is the Mon. If you love lighthouses, read this book . 96Center If you like lighthouses and want to do more than just look at pretty color pictures of them, i.e. if you want to read about their historical significance then this is an exceptional book. If you just want a coffee table book of pictures, then this isn't the book for you. Though the. "I have found that an excellent and entertaining way of becoming a bit educated on" according to E. B. Belason. I have found that an excellent and entertaining way of becoming a bit educated on a subject I know nothing about is to find a talented author who has done extensive research on the subject and then compiled it into an interesting story. Brilliant Beacons does this superbly for ligh
Dolin guides us through the history of theAmerican lighthouse, from the bureaucracy that built and managed them, to the men who tended them, through the wars that doused them, the science and engineering that lit them, and the storms that pummeled them. Part of the fun of Beacons is reading American history through this specifically coastal lens." (Ben Shattuck, The New Republic) . Dolin is a brilliant researcher and seasoned writer, allowing this mostly chronological sweep moments to pause and eddy into all the stories bound to emerge from heroic engineering, isolation, and fortitude. This magnificent compendium is a paean to the buildings that guided safe passage for the economic prosperity of a young nation with huge, dangerous coastlines. "A fine history of lighthouses The author of other masterly works on key aspects of American history and growth Dolin here presents a thoughtful, strai