The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses: An Illustrated Companion to the History, Design, and Lore

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Many people who have read this detailed and comprehensive guide on lighthouses agree that it's a great source of information that does justice to the huge amount of knowledge that goes into building and running lighthouses. Since the book focuses on only the top 50 lighthouses from around the entire globe, you can be assured that you are reading about some of the oldest and most beautiful ones around the globe. Towards the end, author Nicholas Leach gradually draws the reader’s attention to navigation and how it changed with the advent of the modern lighthouse, particularly in and around the British Isles and Europe. Eric Jay Dolin, a best-selling author and government policy advisor, wrote this book about the silent guardians of America's coast. It's a must-read and one of the most highly rated books on our list. It tells the stories and histories of some of the lighthouses that have helped the maritime industry in different parts of the country. It also talks about how they have helped with trade and business. A lot of attention is paid to each lighthouse and its history in the stories, which are told in a lovely way. People who lived in 1716, the year America got its first lighthouse, were called "guardians." They played a big part in making sure the lighthouse worked well. The work they do and the tools they use are described in great detail, as well as important parts of their daily lives.

The book then progresses to the 20th century and the gradual decline in the number of people being employed to maintain lighthouses. It finally concludes with the early 1980s, when the last manned lighthouse was automated. Published in 2022, The Great Lighthouses of Ireland is an excellent compilation of Irish lighthouses featuring lots of historical photographs and information. Lighthouse Encyclopedia: The Definitive Reference by Ray Jones Covering the famed and notorious lighthouses of Britain and the surrounding isles, Seashaken Houses is an enthralling account of the various coastline structures that protected British sailors and mariners for centuries. The traditional image of a lighthouse shows a tall tower with a single light at the top. The light rotates all night long. Lighthouses have been used by the Greeks and Romans since the beginning of time to make sure that people could get around safely.

Lighthouse: An Illuminating History of the World’s Coastal Sentinels By R. G. Grant

These children’s lighthouse books feature both picture books and chapter books. Each of the featured books can be read independently or used as read-alouds. Covering some of the most beautiful lighthouses ever built, author Lisa Purcell does an excellent job of collecting these structural enigmas. Covering different continents and visiting the shores of several countries, the illustrations and photographs in this book are visual masterpieces. They warn of danger and yet lighthouses in fiction rarely seem to keep characters safe. Work in one and suffer loneliness or worse. Set foot in one in any capacity and immediately feel your options narrowing. There may be only one way in but there will be two ways out, one of which you don’t want to think about. They rise out of the land – and the sea – with the undeniable power of a symbol, a prophecy. If you love visiting lighthouses, then you need this book! Sarah has listed every lighthouse in the UK, including all the minor lights.

I leave picture books lying around for the kids to read or thumb through. I choose one or more books to read aloud – usually a short chapter book and a picture book or two. Each one comes with a series of beautiful images and illustrations that show how these lighthouses were built and how they worked. Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse By Eric Jay Dolin Besides their contribution to the construction process, they also standardized and regularized maintenance operations to ensure that these structures survived countless storms.

The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the most well-known buildings ever built. It was also the tallest structure for many years. Another favourite from my own childhood – partly responsible for my lighthouse obsession – is Miss Priscilla’s Secretby Jennifer Zabel and Christopher Masters. The eponymous Miss Priscilla is a prim and proper school teacher – with luxurious silk petticoats and a rather surprising alter-ego . . . Little Timothy follows her into the cellars of the school house one night to discover the secret passage to Lucas Longshanks’ lighthouse and an exciting smuggling plot! While the lighthouses of Alexandria and Long Island receive significant attention from historians, architects, and tourists around the world, an often-unheard-of structure sits on the coast of Northern California. Situated in a region that has claimed the lives of thousands of sailors and mariners, the St. George Reef Lighthouse is considered by lighthouse experts to be the most dangerous lighthouse to be ever built. In this enthralling and gripping tale by author and researcher Dennis Powers.