Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse

Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse

In a work rich in maritime lore and brimming with original historical detail, Eric Jay Dolin, the best-selling author ofÂ 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,Â Brilliant BeaconsÂ 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. Beginning with "Boston Light,"Â America's first lighthouse, Dolin shows how the story of America, from colony to regional backwater, toÂ fledging nation, and eventually to global industrial power, can be illustrated through its lighthouses.

Even in the colonial era, the question of how best to solve the collective problem of lighting our ports, reefs, and coasts through a patchwork of private interests and independent localities telegraphed the great American debate over federalism and the role of a centralized government. As the nation expanded, throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, so too did the coastlines in need of illumination, from New England to the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, the Pacific Coast all the way to Alaska. In Dolin's hands we see how each of these beacons tell itsÂ own story of political squabbling, technological advancement, engineering marvel, and individual derring-do.

In rollicking detail, Dolin treats readers to a memorable cast of characters, from the penny-pinching Treasury official Stephen Pleasonton, who hamstrung the country's efforts to adopt the revolutionary Fresnel lens, to the indomitableÂ Katherine Walker, who presided so heroically over New York HarborÂ as keeper at Robbins Reef LighthouseÂ that she was hailed as a genuine New York City folk hero upon her death in 1931. He also animates American military history from the Revolution to the Civil War andÂ presentsÂ tales both humorous and harrowing of soldiers, saboteurs, Civil War battles, ruthless egg collectors, and, most important, the lighthouseÂ keepers themselves, men and women who often performed astonishing acts of heroism in carrying outÂ their duties.

In the modern world of GPS and satellite-monitored shipping lanes, Brilliant Beacons forms a poignant elegy for the bygone days of the lighthouse, a symbol of American ingenuity that served as both a warning and a sign of hope for generations of mariners; and it also shows how these sentinels have endured, retaining their vibrancy to the present day. Containing over 150 photographs and illustrations, Brilliant BeaconsÂ vividly reframes America's history.

Country	USA
Author	Eric Jay Dolin
Binding	Kindle Edition
Edition	1
EISBN	9781631491535
Format	Kindle eBook
Label	Liveright
Manufacturer	Liveright
NumberOfPages	569
PublicationDate	2016-04-18
Publisher	Liveright
ReleaseDate	2016-03-31
Studio	Liveright

Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse

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