DeWire, E: The DeWire Guide to Lighthouses of Alaska, Hawai

The immense Pacific Ocean, rife with islands and rimmed by huge continents, has been a liquid highway for trade and travel for centuries. Its peaceful name masks a fickle character though-serene and idyllic at times but also turbulent and merciless. Marking the shores of this largest ocean with lights and buoys presented enormous challenges. The DeWire Guide to Lighthouses of Alaska, Hawai'i and Pacific Territories details that struggle and offers travelers and armchair tourists a glimpse of some little-known sentinels in distant places. The U.S. territories of the Pacific are detailed, including two that eventually became our 49th and 50th states in 1959, along with Guam and the Northern Marianas, American Samoa, and a sprinkling of small, far-flung islands made famous by World War II battles and celebrities like Amelia Earhart. Profiles of the lighthouses are complemented by travel information and archival and contemporary images. Also included are the stories of lightkeepers, lighthouse optics, and the fleet of vessels that built and maintained the lights. A bonus section tells the little-known history of buoys-those faithful and colorful markers of waterways worldwide.