Lighthouses of North America – Beacons from Coast to Coast

The majority of lighthouses shown in this book are American, but as a friend of mine wrote:

I received a lighthouse book for Christmas – from an ex -lighthouse keeper and I groaned when I opened the parcel. “Oh yes, forty photos of Portland bloody Head I suppose.”  No, well yes, a couple, but Canadian lights and British Columbia lights –  4 pages on West Vancouver’s Pt. Atkinson, plus photo of Cape Mudge, and for comic relief Brockton Point (Stanley Park). – thanks JDR

So, not all bad news. The book is not coffee table format so it will fit easily on your bookshelf.

Lighthouses of North America – Beacons from Coast to Coast

by Sylke Jackson and published by Firefly Books

320 pages, 8 1/2″ X 11″ X 1″
300 color photos, resources, index
EAN: 9781770852495
ISBN: [ 1770852492 ]
plastic-laminated hardcover
$35.00 CDN / $35.00 US

A tour of more than 70 of the continent’s most beautiful and important lighthouses.

Lighthouses of North America is a beautiful tribute to 71 lighthouses in the United States and Canada. The selection covers the full range of lighthouse architectural styles and represents all regions of the continent. The book opens with a brief but fascinating history of lighthouses, which traces their use from the Romans to the “golden age” of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when lighthouses became a strategic and commercial asset to seafarers. – more 

Sylke Jackson is a freelance writer and holds a BA cum laude in Literature from Yale University. Her passion for architectural preservation has led her to work on historic buildings in this country and abroad. Jackson teaches high school English and writing. She also races Lightning sailboats on the Hudson, and always keeps a grateful eye on the lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow, New York.

[private] Chapters focus on construction method and present each sentinel over a two- to six-page spread with a narrative description:

Conical & Cylindrical Construction, such as the Fire Island Light off Long Island and the Three Sisters of Nauset in Massachusetts
Square Construction, such as the Holland Harbor Light in Michigan and the Presque Isle Light on Lake Erie
Hexagonal and Octagonal Construction, such as the Alcatraz Island Light in San Francisco Bay and the famous Peggy’s Point Light in Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
Skeletal Construction, such as the Sanibel Island Light on Florida’s Gulf Coast and the Rawley Point Light in Wisconsin.
Striking color photographs show the lighthouse exteriors and interiors, and a facts box details location, tower height, focal plan, daymark, light characteristics, year established and current use.

Thoughtful essays describe the architecture of the essential spiral staircase, lost lighthouses, how the lights work, the light-keepers, haunted lighthouses, the future of lighthouses and the most recognized and unusual of lighthouses, the Statue of Liberty. For the traveler, there is a list of North American Lights and useful resources.

Lighthouse aficionados are many in number and all will enjoy this stunning book.

Sylke Jackson is a freelance writer and holds a BA cum laude in Literature from Yale University. Her passion for architectural preservation has led her to work on historic buildings in this country and abroad. Jackson teaches high school English and writing. She also races Lightning sailboats on the Hudson, and always keeps a grateful eye on the lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow, New York. [/private]