What do you think?
Rate this book
Lighthouses
Lighthouses. For centuries they have lit the way home for millions of men and women at sea., casting beacons of safety on coasts throughout North America, Europe, and the world.
This beautifully illustrated Miniature Edition™ celebrates lighthouses through evocative photographs, historical facts, and fascinating trivia (for example, a keeper in Maine trained his dog to ring a fog bell, warning ships of danger!). Also included are engaging first-person observations from remarkable men and women who've guided ships from harm's way.
'Lighthouses' is an international celebration of extraordinary monuments that have shone a light of safety and hope throughout history.
This beautifully illustrated Miniature Edition™ celebrates lighthouses through evocative photographs, historical facts, and fascinating trivia (for example, a keeper in Maine trained his dog to ring a fog bell, warning ships of danger!). Also included are engaging first-person observations from remarkable men and women who've guided ships from harm's way.
'Lighthouses' is an international celebration of extraordinary monuments that have shone a light of safety and hope throughout history.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2000
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 10, 2016
I have always been fascinated with lighthouses and have a small collection of ceramic ones, so when I saw this little gem, complete with a wooden miniature lighthouse as a bookmark I could not resist it. And I am glad that I didn't for it is an informative account of lighthouses their development and their keepers from the early days up until when keepers were mostly no longer necessary.
The first great lighthouse in history was the Pharos of Alexandria, which was built by the Egyptians around 280BC. At 450 feet it was, at the time, the tallest structure in the world and for centuries it guided ships to the world's busiest seaport; it stood for almost 1600 years until, in 1349, perhaps as a result of an earthquake, it was discovered in ruins. The Romans were the next lighthouse builders as they built a system along the coasts of Asia, Africa and Europe and ruins of their well-built structures can still be seen today on the shores of France and Great Britain.
Lighthouse construction slowed during the dark ages, when there was a sharp decline in travel and trade but by 1100 Italy and France were taking the lead in lighthouse construction with Great Britain following suit by populating its coasts and its colonies with warning light. In 1716 Boston Light was America's first lighthouse when it was built by the Massachusetts Bay colonists at the entrance to Boston Harbour. Then the 19th and 20th centuries saw huge advances in lighthouse design and engineering and lighthouses became a familiar and comforting sight for the seafarers of those times.
Heather Henson has put together plenty of fascinating facts about these structures and their keepers. For instance, France became the first country to build a lighthouse in the middle of the sea when La Tour de Cordousa was built on a tiny strip of sand off the coast in 1622 and America's tallest light at 208 feet, Cape Hatteras Light,was built in 1789 to guide ships through the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'. And the oldest original lighthouse still in service in the United States is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse built in 1764 near the New Jersey shore.
Swiss scientist Aime Argand revolutionised lighthouse technology when he invented a lamp which produced a steady, smokeless and very bright flame in 1782 and his lamp became the standard for more than 100 years. Around the same time experiments were carried out with shiny metal reflectors that were placed behind a lamps in order to intensify and bend its light rays and very soon it was discovered that, with improved lamps and reflectors, a light could be created that was equal to several thousand candlepower.
But even the most powerful light can have difficulties in snow, rain or fog and it was quickly recognised that sound needed to play a part in lighthouse development. As such there have been a variety of warning sounds that range from cannons, gongs, trumpets, bells, whistles and finally, the fog horn. And with this in mind, a keeper at the Wood Island Light off the Maine coast trained his dog named Sailor to ring the fog bell with its teeth. Its method was to pull the cord attached to the clapper and apparently people journeyed from all over the world to hear Sailor ring the bell!
As for the keepers, known in the early days as 'Wickies' because they tended oil-burning lamps that had wicks, poor old George Worthylake, Boston Light's first keeper, was returning to his post with his wife in 1718 when a sudden storm swept their rowboat away and they were never seen again. And assistant keepers Joseph Wilson and Joseph Antoine were similarly unlucky when they were killed when the Minots Ledge lighthouse was washed away in a hurricane. They did, however, leave a legacy for ever since the tragedy local fishermen swear that before a storm a figure can be seen on the ladder that leads from the sea to the lighthouse ... and apparently the figure cries out a warning, 'Keep away!'.
There are plenty more fascinating tales, plus more than 25 superb illustrations of these symbols of adventure and despair that are monuments to humanity's innate wanderlust and also to our helplessness in the face of nature.
The first great lighthouse in history was the Pharos of Alexandria, which was built by the Egyptians around 280BC. At 450 feet it was, at the time, the tallest structure in the world and for centuries it guided ships to the world's busiest seaport; it stood for almost 1600 years until, in 1349, perhaps as a result of an earthquake, it was discovered in ruins. The Romans were the next lighthouse builders as they built a system along the coasts of Asia, Africa and Europe and ruins of their well-built structures can still be seen today on the shores of France and Great Britain.
Lighthouse construction slowed during the dark ages, when there was a sharp decline in travel and trade but by 1100 Italy and France were taking the lead in lighthouse construction with Great Britain following suit by populating its coasts and its colonies with warning light. In 1716 Boston Light was America's first lighthouse when it was built by the Massachusetts Bay colonists at the entrance to Boston Harbour. Then the 19th and 20th centuries saw huge advances in lighthouse design and engineering and lighthouses became a familiar and comforting sight for the seafarers of those times.
Heather Henson has put together plenty of fascinating facts about these structures and their keepers. For instance, France became the first country to build a lighthouse in the middle of the sea when La Tour de Cordousa was built on a tiny strip of sand off the coast in 1622 and America's tallest light at 208 feet, Cape Hatteras Light,was built in 1789 to guide ships through the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'. And the oldest original lighthouse still in service in the United States is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse built in 1764 near the New Jersey shore.
Swiss scientist Aime Argand revolutionised lighthouse technology when he invented a lamp which produced a steady, smokeless and very bright flame in 1782 and his lamp became the standard for more than 100 years. Around the same time experiments were carried out with shiny metal reflectors that were placed behind a lamps in order to intensify and bend its light rays and very soon it was discovered that, with improved lamps and reflectors, a light could be created that was equal to several thousand candlepower.
But even the most powerful light can have difficulties in snow, rain or fog and it was quickly recognised that sound needed to play a part in lighthouse development. As such there have been a variety of warning sounds that range from cannons, gongs, trumpets, bells, whistles and finally, the fog horn. And with this in mind, a keeper at the Wood Island Light off the Maine coast trained his dog named Sailor to ring the fog bell with its teeth. Its method was to pull the cord attached to the clapper and apparently people journeyed from all over the world to hear Sailor ring the bell!
As for the keepers, known in the early days as 'Wickies' because they tended oil-burning lamps that had wicks, poor old George Worthylake, Boston Light's first keeper, was returning to his post with his wife in 1718 when a sudden storm swept their rowboat away and they were never seen again. And assistant keepers Joseph Wilson and Joseph Antoine were similarly unlucky when they were killed when the Minots Ledge lighthouse was washed away in a hurricane. They did, however, leave a legacy for ever since the tragedy local fishermen swear that before a storm a figure can be seen on the ladder that leads from the sea to the lighthouse ... and apparently the figure cries out a warning, 'Keep away!'.
There are plenty more fascinating tales, plus more than 25 superb illustrations of these symbols of adventure and despair that are monuments to humanity's innate wanderlust and also to our helplessness in the face of nature.
December 16, 2013
Pleasant mix of photos, history, quotes and famous lighthouse keepers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews