Chesapeake Bay: Notes & Sketches

by Carvel Hall Blair

A description of Chesapeake Bay, the story of man's use of it, and the factors that threaten it.

163 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Jessica Cottrell Gentile]

I saw this only has 1 rating and it's three stars but I feel like this book deserves 4. It was a little bit of everything about the Chesapeake Bay and yeah you can't get everything in there but I thought each chapter was pretty interesting. I liked the pen and ink sketches. I know it's definitely a bit dated now but sometimes when I read a book like this and it's talking about how a certain species is near extinction or a habitat it severely threatened but they (at that time period) were working on fixing the situation and then I look it up on the internet to find that there was success 🙌 and animals and habitats were saved . It gives me hope and I like that. I think we all need a little hope that we can protect the environment better than we did the year before

[Philip L]

I picked this book up at an antique shop in Annapolis, MD, while my wife and I were on a long weekend there. It was published in 1970 so while reading you have to keep in mind that some of the info might be outdated. Interesting read though, history of the bay, the development of different industries; boat building, fishing, oyster harvesting. The text is accompanied by ink sketches throughout, which is really nice. Lends to its authenticity and "snapshot in time" type feel. The one thing I found very interesting was the final few chapters where on the effects of pollution on the bay, and conservation measures. The general consensus was that the authors/publishers were aware that pollution was having a large impact on the health of the bay but the powers that be were not sure what they could do about it yet (or what they were willing to do about it). Keep in mind that this book was written in 1970, before the Nixon administration passed the Clean Water & Air Legislation. Before polluters were forced to clean up the mess they were making (at least for a little while).