What is the authentic Long Beach Island? If you were to list all that you love about this 18-mile-long New Jersey sandbar -- favorite things, its rich history and lore, family attachments that may go back generations, beach, ocean and bay activities, lost youth and carefree summers, spiritual sunrises and spectacular sunsets -- would that distill LBI to its essence?
There is so much that is timeless and true about this Island. Although the experiences and feelings are different for everyone, one fact can not be denied: the emotional connection to LBI is real and deep and as permanent as a tattoo. It is a bond.
All Things LBI: Faves - History - Legends - Lore celebrates this bond with observations, moments past and present, cultural vignettes, memories and delights -- and with 480 photographs and images.
Breezily organized into sections including: ''The Beach and All That Makes It So,'' ''All Things Bayside,'' ''Weather, Storms, and Shipwrecks,'' the book also includes natural history, town legends and landmarks, remember-when nostalgia, and the special quality of the off-season. Long-time locals will recognize much; new visitors will be clued-in; young and old will relate. Charming, evocative and keenly worded, this inclusive -- not exclusive (because no one really wants to keep it to themselves) -- jam-packed gift book captures the real Long Beach Island.
All-encompassing, the 183-page hardcover also includes blank note pages at the end for readers to record their own favorite LBI things.
''Those three letters.... They're loaded with meaning, longing, and emotion,'' the opening pages observe. ''They represent more than just a physical place. More than an identity. They are attached to your soul. ...Wherever you are in the world, if you know what those letters mean, they will transport and connect you.''
Without pretense or tourism hype, All Things LBI resonates with a heartfelt affection for what is enduring on this island. The book is written and curated by the founder and editors of Down The Shore Publishing, who sifted through decades of collected material, archives, experiences and knowledge from the authors whose work they have published. Since 1985 the venerable regional publisher has explored and documented Long Beach Island and the entire Jersey Shore with nearly 100 essential titles and dozens of authors. The publisher's catalog includes not just the shore, but New Jersey subjects and coastal themes in all genres and formats, from novels to coffee table art books.
