Marblehead encompasses all of 1927, a year in which H.P. Lovecraft, researching a book he'd been hired to write for the Nazis, travels the East Coast in the company of Charles Sylvester Viereck.

Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and picturesque harbors both large and small, Marblehead has relied on the changing tides for its livelihood since the town's founding in 1629. It served first as the departure point for schooners that sailed on local and far-flung fishing voyages, then as a flourishing seaport in the 18th century. Since the Civil War it has been a safe haven for yachting enthusiasts and tourists who are lured by its many charms. The harbor had been a working port for over two centuries when a sudden storm off Newfoundland's Grand Banks in 1846 destroyed half of the town's fishing fleet. Many of Marblehead's inhabitants became involved in the burgeoning shoe industry to carry them over while the fisheries struggled to recover, but never did. By the turn of the 20th century, the town had become an important yachting center. In this much anticipated sequel, these and other waterfront-related aspects of Marblehead's history are chronicled in six intriguing chapters with over 200 photographs and postcards.

Through careful research and colorful accounts, historian Paul A. Gilje discovers what liberty meant to an important group of common men in American society, those who lived and worked on the waterfront and aboard ships. In the process he reveals that the idealized vision of liberty associated with the Founding Fathers had a much more immediate and complex meaning than previously thought. In Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution, life aboard warships, merchantmen, and whalers, as well as the interactions of mariners and others on shore, is recreated in absorbing detail. Describing the important contributions of sailors to the resistance movement against Great Britain and their experiences during the Revolutionary War, Gilje demonstrates that, while sailors recognized the ideals of the Revolution, their idea of liberty was far more individual in nature—often expressed through hard drinking and womanizing or joining a ship of their choice. Gilje continues the story into the post-Revolutionary world highlighted by the Quasi War with France, the confrontation with the Barbary Pirates, and the War of 1812.

The true beauty and fury of the Atlantic Ocean are known only by the rugged individuals who have made their living from the sea. In the seventy-five years from the American Revolution to the middle of the nineteenth century, Marblehead, Massachusetts, experienced a golden age of fishing. For the next fifty years, the industry struggled, but from 1900 until the end of the twentieth century, one small anchorage made itself proud. From boat building to sail design, First Harbor produced creative men whose innovations helped shape marine history. Join Hugh Peabody Bishop and Brenda Bishop Booma as they reveal this story through the eyes of a Marblehead fisherman, drawn uncontrollably by his love for the sea.

Today, Portland, Oregon, is a city of majestic bridges crisscrossing the deep swath of the Willamette River. A century ago, riverboat pilots would have witnessed a flurry of stevedores and longshoremen hurrying along the wharves. Situated as the terminus of sea lanes and railroads, with easy access to the wheat fields, sawmills and dairies of the Willamette Valley, Portland quickly became a rich and powerful seaport. As the city changed, so too did the role of the sailor--once bartered by shanghai masters, later elevated to well-paid and respected mariner. Drawing on primary source material, previously unpublished photographs and thirty-three years of waterfront work, local author Barney Blalock recalls the city's vanished waterfront in these tales of sea dogs, salty days and the river's tides.

A loving photographic portrait of Marblehead, Massachusetts, by renowned photographer Ulrike Welsch, a longtime resident of the town.

A history of the Harbor and waterfront of Marblehead, Massachusetts in text and images. Highlights of waterfront history that are in this book include the Marblehead Transportation Company, the many ferries that served the harbor, Police Boats and Harbormasters. The book notes many of the personalities that inhabited and worked in the waterfront area.

When the Marblehead Lighthouse first lit its flame in 1822, it drew on whale oil. The beacon flickered through lard, kerosene and LED lights over the next two centuries, while the tower weathered razing and reorganization. Despite the advent of GPS, the light still provides a solid basis for boats and ships to navigate the nearshore waters of the peninsula. The lighthouse's rich history boasts the first female keeper on the Great Lakes, as well as a place on Ohio license plates and on a U.S. postage stamp. James Proffitt gives an in-depth profile of the most photographed site in the state.

John Gibson offers a variety of routes for those wishing to appreciate the more rural side of Massachusetts. Routes vary in length. Some are circular, others point-to-point, but all seek out the less-traveled routes and steer explorers away from congestion and the worst examples of modern development. John's writing style is accessible, concise, informative, and infused with the author's appreciation for the true character of New England.