In this "magnificent compendium" ( New Republic ), best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin presents the definitive history of American lighthouses, and in so doing "illuminate s] the history of America itself" ( Entertainment Weekly ). Treating readers to a memorable cast of characters and "fascinating anecdotes" ( New York Review of Books ), Dolin shows how the story of the nation, from a regional backwater colony to global industrial power, can be illustrated through its lighthouses--from New England to the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, the Pacific Coast, and all the way to Alaska and Hawaii. A Captain and Classic Boat Best Nautical Book of 2016