A human and global take on a beloved vacation spot. The crash of surf, smell of salted air, wet whorls of sand underfoot. These are the sensations of the beach, that environment that has drawn humans to its life-sustaining shores for millennia. And while the gull’s cry and the cove’s splendor have remained constant throughout time, our relationship with the beach has been as fluid as the runnels left behind by the tide’s turning. The Lure of the Beach is a chronicle of humanity's history with the coast, taking us from the seaside pleasure palaces of Roman elites and the aquatic rituals of medieval pilgrims, to the venues of modern resort towns and beyond. Robert C. Ritchie traces the contours of the material and social economies of the beach throughout time, covering changes in the social status of beach goers, the technology of transport, and the development of fashion (from nudity to Victorianism and back again), as well as the geographic spread of modern beach-going from England to France, across the Mediterranean, and from nineteenth-century America to the world. And as climate change and rising sea levels erode the familiar faces of our coasts, we are poised for a contemporary reckoning with our relationship—and responsibilities—to our beaches and their ecosystems. The Lure of the Beach demonstrates that whether as a commodified pastoral destination, a site of ecological resplendency, or a flashpoint between private ownership and public access, the history of the beach is a human one that deserves to be told now more than ever before.

Corbin argues that with few exceptions people living before the eighteenth century knew nothing of the attractions of the coast, the visual delight of the sea, the desire to brave the force of the waves or to feel the coolness of sand against the skin. The image of the ocean in the popular consciousness was coloured by Biblical and mythical recollections of sea monsters, voracious whales, and catastrophic floods. It was perceived as sinister and unchanging, a dark, unfathomable force inspiring horror rather than attraction. These associations of catastrophe and fear in the minds of Europeans intensified the repulsion they felt towards deserted and dismal shores.

“A first-rate storyteller who creates believable, sympathetic characters who seem as familiar as your neighbors,” (The Boston Globe), Barbara Delinsky presents a captivating new novel about a woman whose unexpected reunion with her estranged family forces her to confront a devastating past in A Week at the Shore. One phone call is all it takes to lure Mallory Aldiss back to her family’s Rhode Island beach home. It's been twenty years since she's been gone—running from the scandal that destroyed her parents' marriage, drove her and her two sisters apart, and crushed her relationship with the love of her life, Jack Sabathian. Twenty years during which she lived in New York, building her career as a photographer and raising her now teenage daughter Joy. But that phone call makes it clear that something has brought the past forward again—something involving Mallory’s father. Compelled by concern for her family and by Joy’s wish to visit her mother’s childhood home, Mallory returns to Bay Bluff, where conflicting loyalties will be faced and painful truths revealed. In just seven watershed days at the Rhode Island shore, she will test the bonds of friendship and family—and discover the role that love plays in defining their lives.

Take this book to the beach; it will open up a whole new world. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps, and graphics, it explores one of the planet’s most dynamic environments—from tourist beaches to Arctic beaches strewn with ice chunks to steaming hot tropical shores. The World’s Beaches tells how beaches work, explains why they vary so much, and shows how dramatic changes can occur on them in a matter of hours. It discusses tides, waves, and wind; the patterns of dunes, washover fans, and wrack lines; and the shape of berms, bars, shell lags, cusps, ripples, and blisters. What is the world’s longest beach? Why do some beaches sing when you walk on them? Why do some have dark rings on their surface and tiny holes scattered far and wide? This fascinating, comprehensive guide also considers the future of beaches, and explains how extensively people have affected them—from coastal engineering to pollution, oil spills, and rising sea levels.

The Lure of Sea Glass includes stories people have told LaMotte about their search for meaning in sea glass. It also features poetry, quotations and artwork that transport readers into the emotional side of sea glass and inspire them to continue their quest for seaside gems. Exquisite montages of sea glass by noted museum and gallery photographer Celia Pearson beautifully illustrate the words on the printed pages. The 204-page book explores the identification of rare sea glass shards, and describes and pictures the specific characteristics of collections from 14 coastal regions throughout the United States, from Maine to Washington State, including two Great Lakes regions. It also offers additional information about identifying historic pieces from our past, and takes a thoughtful look at the future of sea glass.

Now an established classic on the subject, this revised and updated edition of Hooked on Bass shows anglers how to catch bass, particularly the bigger fish, from the shore. With excellent photography and clear, detailed diagrams to help illustrate the advice, any angler, beginner or expert, who has caught or would like to catch bass will find endless value in the pages of this book.

Special Features·Where to find more snook than ever before·Snook tackle that won't let you down·Live bait expertise--finding it and fishing it·Giant snook--best times, techniques, tackle·Plug casting, spinning and flyroddingPacked with secrets from the nation's best snook anglers, The Snook Book is "must" reading for anyone who loves the pursuit of this unique sub-tropic species. Every aspect of Finding and catching big snook is covered, in every season and in all waters where snook are found. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, every chapter of The Snook Book will make you a better snook fisherman.

Ship to Shore: Art and the Lure of the Sea emerged from, and was inspired by, an exhibition held across Southampton's John Hansard Gallery and SeaCity Museum in 2014.Based around interviews conducted by Jean Wainwright with sixteen internationally renowned contemporary artists whose works were featured in the show, the book weaves an evocative narrative about the sea and its enduring lure for artists.Powerful meanings of the sea as something seductive or dangerous, a visual metaphor, a political boundary, or the site of trauma or imagination, emerge as the inspiration for these artists and link their very different practices together.As the words and images unfold we are reminded how the sea has enticed us across centuries, thrilling us with its seductive vitality.With framing essays by Jean Wainwright and Philip Hoare.

This is the most up-to-date California surf fishing book on the market. Learn how to catch local fish at the beach near you. Details on equipment, bait, types of fish and technique. 120 pages with over sixty pictures and illustrations of the newest techniques and secrets to be a successful surf angler. Compiled with over forty-years of experience, this "how-to" book is the most complete and informative surf fishing book available today!