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 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.

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.

From culture shock to cone-shell poison, what better way to experience the highs and lows of global ocean travel than through the words of the captain's mate, mother of two teenaged boys. Lona Gray chronicled every aspect of their sailing adventure from how to find and prepare meals, how to repair engines, how to avoid monsoons, how to educate teenagers, and how to stay sane living in small quarters far from all the comforts of stateside living. Through Lona's words, we see and feel Captain Bobby's frustrations and triumphs, we meet their new friends, and we experience the rush of unexpected weather. "Caught by the Lure of the Sea is a compelling and realistic account for anyone considering taking the leap of faith to follow a romantic dream." -Cathie Katz, author of Sierra Club's Nature a Day at a Time: An Uncommon Look At Common Wildlife. "If you've ever dreamt of sailing around the world, family in tow, this is the vicarious trip of a lifetime." -Carole Kotkin, co-author MMMMiami-Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere; food editor Travellady.com and free-lance travel writer. " you should read the adventures of Bobbie and Lona Gray aboard the sailing vessel Immanuel they met priests and pirates and braved stormy seas to bring you a story you'll not forget." -John A. Brennan, former Commodore of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

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.

Winner of the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, this intoxicating story of a teenage girl who trades her a middle–class upbringing for a quest for meaning in 1980s Mexico is “a surreal, captivating tale about the power of a youthful imagination, the lure of teenage transgression, and its inevitable disappointments” (Los Angeles Review of Books). One autumn afternoon in Mexico City, seventeen–year–old Luisa does not return home from school. Instead, she boards a bus to the Pacific coast with Tomás, a boy she barely knows. He seems to represent everything her life is lacking―recklessness, impulse, independence. Tomás may also help Luisa fulfill an unusual obsession: she wants to track down a traveling troupe of Ukrainian dwarfs. According to newspaper reports, the dwarfs recently escaped a Soviet circus touring Mexico. The imagined fates of these performers fill Luisa’s surreal dreams as she settles in a beach community in Oaxaca. Surrounded by hippies, nudists, beachcombers, and eccentric storytellers, Luisa searches for someone, anyone, who will “promise, no matter what, to remain a mystery.” It is a quest more easily envisioned than accomplished. As she wanders the shoreline and visits the local bar, Luisa begins to disappear dangerously into the lives of strangers on Zipolite, the “Beach of the Dead.” Meanwhile, her father has set out to find his missing daughter. A mesmeric portrait of transgression and disenchantment unfolds. Set to a pulsing soundtrack of Joy Division, Nick Cave, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sea Monsters is a brilliantly playful and supple novel about the moments and mysteries that shape us. "Aridjis is deft at conjuring the teenage swooniness that apprehends meaning below every surface. Like Sebald’s or Cusk’s, her haunted writing patrols its own omissions . . . The figure of the shipwreck looms large for Aridjis. It becomes a useful lens through which to see this book, which is self–contained, inscrutable, and weirdly captivating, like a salvaged object that wants to return to the sea." ―Katy Waldman, The New Yorker

"An elegiac prose celebration . . . a classic in its genre."—Publishers Weekly In this acclaimed travel memoir, Donald Richie paints a memorable portrait of the island-studded Inland Sea. His existential ruminations on food, culture, and love and his brilliant descriptions of life and landscape are a window into an Old Japan that has now nearly vanished. Included are the twenty black and white photographs by Yoichi Midorikawa that accompanied the original 1971 edition. Donald Richie (1924-2013) was an internationally recognized expert on Japanese culture and film. Yoichi Midorikawa (1915-2001) was one of Japan's foremost nature photographers.