With its picturesque harbors, rugged mountains, and secluded islands, the coast of Maine offers some of the most spectacular scenery in America. This book is a stunning tribute to America’s most popular coastline. Maine attracts millions of visitors each year who come to swim, fish, hike, or just enjoy the views. Many of the images present a near-panoramic scope, placing the viewer in the middle of a wilderness splendor. The photographs capture the region’s famous sandy beaches, tree-covered mountains, tidal pools brimming with life, and secluded harbors, as well as quaint villages, historic lighthouses, cranberry bogs, and lobster boats. Chapters cover Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, and Portland to Penobscot Bay, Mount Desert Island, and Cobscook Bay. A central focus is Acadia National Park, one of the top ten most visited national parks in America. Nearby, the town of Bar Harbor hosts more than eighty cruise ships each year. The book also celebrates offshore Maine, with images of whales, puffins, and other elusive sea creatures. The Coast of Maine makes an affordable and charming gift for anyone planning, or dreaming of, a visit to this glorious region. The Coast of Maine brings the incomparable shoreline home at a size and production value worthy of a gift for any lover of all that is Down East.
“A thorough and engaging history of Maine’s rocky coast and its tough-minded people.”—Boston Herald “[A] well-researched and well-written cultural and ecological history of stubborn perseverance.”—USA Today For more than four hundred years the people of coastal Maine have clung to their rocky, wind-swept lands, resisting outsiders’ attempts to control them while harvesting the astonishing bounty of the Gulf of Maine. Today’s independent, self-sufficient lobstermen belong to the communities imbued with a European sense of ties between land and people, but threatened by the forces of homogenization spreading up the eastern seaboard. In the tradition of William Warner’s Beautiful Swimmers, veteran journalist Colin Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) traces the history of the rugged fishing communities that dot the coast of Maine and the prized crustacean that has long provided their livelihood. Through forgotten wars and rebellions, and with a deep tradition of resistance to interference by people “from away,” Maine’s lobstermen have defended an earlier vision of America while defying the “tragedy of the commons”—the notion that people always overexploit their shared property. Instead, these icons of American individualism represent a rare example of true communal values and collaboration through grit, courage, and hard-won wisdom.
You'll never fall into tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. Doing so is like having a trusted friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. That's because our guidebooks, unlike much of the competition, are written by resident experts--like Brian Kevin, the author of Frommer's Maine Coast, and the managing editor of Down East magazine. In this highly opinionated book, he'll help you sort through the options so you can tailor a vacation that's right for you. Frommer's Maine Coast covers all of the region's highlights--from the best beaches and lobster rolls to the most scenic places to hike, kayak, and sail. The book gives in-depth advice on how to tackle the wondrous Acadia National Park, the foodie scene in Portland, such small-town gems as York Village, Camden, Castine, and more. Our guide proudly contains: * Exact prices for every venue and activity listed, so there's never any guessing or nasty surprises * Detailed maps throughout, plus a handy pullout map * Savvy, hard-hitting reviews of restaurants, hotels, attractions, shopping, and nightlife in all price ranges, from luxe to backpacker-friendly * Helpful suggested itineraries so you can make the most of your vacation time
The history of Maine has always been inextricably tied to its coastline. The sea first brought settlers, and the rich fishing and shipbuilding industries sustained growth. The Atlantic also connected Mainers to the rest of the world. Goods and ideas traveled the maritime routes that originated in populous Portland and more isolated places like Carver's Harbor and Deer Isle. From Searsport's sailing masters to the burning of Royal Tar, author Harry Gratwick relates the adventures of the skippers and their crews. Read about the search for the Smithy Boat and other tales from Maine's shipping lanes.
This novel begins in 1969, and as Peter, Paul and Mary croon on the radio and poster paints are splashing the latest anti-war slogans. Suzanne, a poet, lives in a Maine beach house awaiting the birth of a love child she will name Sparrow. Claudia, who weds a farmer during college, plans to raise three strong sons. And Elizabeth and Howard marry, organize protest marches, and try to raise their two children with their own earthy, hippie values. By 1985, things have changed. Suzanne, now with a M.B.A., has taken to calling Sparrow "Susan." After personal tragedy, Claudia spirals backward into her sixties world—and into madness. And Elizabeth, fatally ill, watches despairingly as her children yearn for a split-level house and a gleaming station wagon. In this beloved, critically acclaimed first novel, Hood's clear, brave, and penetrating voice captures the spirit of three friends struggling to resolve their lives in a complicated time warp called lost youth.
WHEN YOU NAVIGATE THE COAST OF MAINE, A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS A Visual Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast takes the guesswork out of navigating Maine’s intricate, reef-strewn waters, ensuring that your next voyage through this coastal paradise will be picture-perfect. Inside you will find more than 180 full-color aerial photographs that provide "by-the-picture” navigational guidance for Maine’s treasured harbors, difficult passages, and hidden approaches. Author James Bildner has added chart segments and recommended course lines to these low-altitude photos, giving you a unique, at-a-glance guide to sailing around Maine. It’s like cruising with a masthead lookout to point the way. • Text descriptions of area with piloting instructions • Labeled approach lines • Low-angled photos with key navigation aides labeled • Chart segments from high resolution NOAA charts
'It's a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much. Fresh, witty and smart it also has a heart.' KATE ATKINSON 'Sizzles with uproarious fun, from its snout to the sting in its tale.' INDEPENDENT 'The perfect tonic for testing times.' GUARDIAN We all know politics is absurd. But could a Republican be brought down by a stuffed aardvark? Republican congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is determined that nothing will stop him in his campaign for re-election. Not the fact that he is a bachelor, not the fact that his main adversary Nancy Beavers - married, with children - is rising in the polls. Nothing. That is, until one hot day in August, he receives a large parcel via FedEx. Inside is a gigantic taxidermied aardvark. This aardvark has a surprising history - from the Victorian naturalist who discovered it to the taxidermist who deemed it his finest creation. But for Wilson, the entrance of the aardvark sets off a chain of events that threaten to ruin his entire career. Constantly surprising, brilliantly comic and piquantly provocative, Enter the Aardvark is a tale for our times, a biting satire with a tender underbelly. ____________________________________________ 'Sometimes, a paragraph near the start of a novel is so perfect and funny that you read it over and over, laugh every time, and know you're in for a treat...I'm loving this. Completely insane but utterly hilarious'. JOHN BOYNE 'Spry, slim, clever...the inventiveness is impressive and the story has heart' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'What begins as a topical takedown of the American political system deepens into a hugely enjoyable romp through history.' OBSERVER 'Fresh, astute and mouthwateringly sharp, this is a rare thing; a political satire that tugs on the heartstrings in unconventional ways.' IRISH TIMES 'Sharp, inventive and very funny, it's an entertainingly bizarre political satire.' TATLER 'Part 21st-century political satire, part unexpectedly affecting 19th-century love story...It's every bit as strange as it sounds, and yet somehow it works' DAILY MAIL 'Old, dead creature brings down flash, vain senator... Out in front as the most fizzing and amusing novel of the year.' STRONG WORDS magazine 'A blisteringly innovative and outrageous novel.' NY OBSERVER 'Weird, wonderful, and very much of the moment, Enter the Aardvark is a landmark political novel of the Trump era...With heart and humor, Anthony expertly skewers our current political climate.' ESQUIRE 'Inventive and darkly funny...as Anthony connects characters from today with those from 19th-century England, she offers an original and unsettling lens through which to view male power as it has evolved over time.' TIME 'Enter Jessica Anthony. With her highly inventive, ever attentive, and morally serious (as all great comedy must be) Enter the Aardvark, she estranges all over again our deplorable political moment, and thereby helps make it bearable.' JOSHUA FERRIS 'Mischievously zoological and darkly satirical - a brilliant novel' JOHN IRONMONGER, author of NOT FORGETTING THE WHALE 'A feverish, rollicking beast of a book. Totally assured, completely unpredictable, Jessica Anthony has created a true original.' SIMON WROE, author of CHOP CHOP and HERE COMES TROUBLE
Set in an enchanting, mysterious, and sometimes very hard state, the selections in Best Maine Stories speak profoundly to the rest of America of a unique land of the heart.
