Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1680383 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
One of the most rugged expanses in the continental U.S., the coast of northern California and Oregon saw frequent shipping disasters in the 19th century, before Congress ordered the construction of lighthouses on such dangerous promontories as Heceta Head, Cape Mendocino and a seaward-trending pile of rocks called St. George Reef. The brave, resourceful engineer who directed the Tillamook Rock lighthouse construction, Alexander Ballantyne, was later engaged for the St. George job, and it's this story that author Powers (Treasure Ship) chronicles here. Without any maps to illustrate it, however, readers will need an atlas to follow the movement of men and ships up and down the coast. Later chapters describing lighthouse life prove less problematic; lighthouse keepers were fascinating, courageous characters (and included a good number of women) who not only kept lights burning and fog horns sounding, but also risked life and limb to rescue people stranded in torrential weather. Unfortunately, Powers' wordy style does not do his subjects justice, making this a less-than-enjoyable read despite a worthy topic.
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From Booklist
Powers returns to the northern California setting of the excellent The Raging Sea (2005) and Treasure Ship (2006) to tell the story of the St. George's Reef Lighthouse, built in response to the wreck recounted in Treasure Ship. Twelve miles from the nearest harbor and subject to consistently vile weather, the lighthouse took 10 years to build, and resupplying it, relieving crews, and basic maintenance were always challenging during the 75 years it was a manned station. In traversing its career, Powers offers an informative introduction to the promise and the peril of the old-fashioned lighthouse, whose crews often risked their own lives to guard those of sailors, especially in winter. Thoroughly researched and written in fluent prose as well as with infectious love of the sea and those who go down to it, this book is Powers' third consecutive high-priority addition for maritime collections. Green, Roland