Sunken treasure, cannibalism, prison ships, Nazi submarines, the Bermuda triangle all are tied into the lore of shipwrecks along Florida s coasts. There are as many shipwreck stories as there are thousands of Florida shipwrecks. This book offers thirty of the most interesting of them from the tale of young Fontaneda, who wrecked in 1545 and was held captive by Indians for 17 years, to the story of the Coast Guard cutter Bibb, which was sunk off Key Largo in 1987 to provide an artificial reef and diving site. In between there is the Atocha, flagship of a Spanish treasure fleet, which sank in a...

Blackbeard, Jose Gaspar, Jean Lafitte the names conjure up a romantic, swashbuckling figure with a black patch over one eye, a cutlass in his teeth, and a brace of pistols tucked into his waistband. Actors such as Errol Flynn did much to create that devil-may-care attitude glamorized on the silver screen, but in fact, real pirates were not so admirable; for the most part they were cruel, greedy, dastardly brigands, many of whom were slave traders or smugglers in addition to being pirates. Still, we continue to be fascinated by their lives and exploits, perhaps because they led such...

Since the time when Greek sentinels lit fires on mountaintops for the use of mariners at sea, lighthouses have aided the navigation of sailors on European waters. Those crude fires have been replaced by state-of-the-art towers equipped with satellite technology, and lighthouses remain indispensable navigational aids. For Ireland, the lights are important not only to mariners, but to the livelihood of the entire island.

Eighty lighthouses under the authority of the Commissioners of Irish Lights dot the 2000 miles of Irish coastline. Each is addressed here, and thirty of the most...

Though the Georgia coast is a mere 110 miles long, a wealth of historic beauty natural and manmade lies between the Savannah and St. Mary s Rivers. The last-settled and poorest of the original thirteen colonies of the United States, Georgia is a unique combination of war-torn history and genteel character.Here you'll find stories of Civil War soldiers, pioneers and settlers, Native Americans, seafarers and pirates (including Blackbeard), and even a ghost or two.

Some of the places you'll visit:

• First Presbyterian Church, where smugglers hoisted a horse into the belfry to divert the...

From the union of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers at the Georgia-Florida state line, the mighty Apalachicola River flows unimpeded for about 100 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. At the river's mouth lies Apalachicola Bay and Florida's "Forgotten Coast," known for world-class seafood and seemingly endless miles of pristine beaches, shallow estuaries, and protected forests.

In Apalachicola Bay, author Kevin McCarthy takes us through the history of the bay's sites and communities. With vibrant color paintings by William Trotter, Apalachicola Bay will let you savor some...