Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse by Eric Jay Dolin
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Date: May 25, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Part of our Seven Lectures at Seven Gables Series
Important maritime landmarks dot the coastline. The House of the Seven Gables has been one for four centuries. Even more important to maritime safety, America’s lighthouses have kept countless ships from wrecking, saved untold lives, and contributed mightily to the growth and prosperity of the nation. Eric Jay Dolin, the author of Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, will share the dramatic story of these soaring coastal sentinels, using numerous slides to illuminate the beauty and grandeur of America’s lighthouses. It is a riveting tale of nasty political battles, technological innovation, natural disasters, and war. But most of all it is a story about the male and female keepers, who, often with the invaluable assistance of their families, faithfully kept the lights shining and the fog signals blaring. A book signing for Brilliant Beacons will follow the talk.
Eric Jay Dolin is the author of Leviathan: The History of Whaling In America, which was chosen as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, and also won the 2007 John Lyman Award for U. S. Maritime History; and Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America, which was chosen by The Seattle Times as one of the best nonfiction books of 2010, and also won the James P. Hanlan Book Award, given by the New England Historical Association. He is also the author of When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail, which was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of 2012. A graduate of Brown, Yale, and MIT, where he received his Ph.D. in environmental policy, Dolin lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family. For more information on his background, books, and awards, please visit ericjaydolin.com. You can also follow Dolin’s posts on Facebook on his author page, at Eric Jay Dolin.
Members: Free
Non-Members: $7.00 per person
To reserve your spot for this lecture please email groups@7gables.org, or call 978-744-0991 ext. 104