On the Armada bookshelf lighthouses & keepers.

Originally published in 1997 this book takes a bold look at the brave men, women and families who literally risked their lives to keep the shores of the USA safe for maritime traffic. Some of the stories and testimonials provided are shocking examples of heroism (and some of complete boredom) displayed by the lighthouse, and lightship keepers and buoy tenders and are explored and explained, beginning with the inception of the US Lighthouse Board in 1852.

Along with the history and testimonials of the lighthouse service and its members Lighthouses & Keepers is replete with photos, maps and tables to assist the reader's comprehension of the sites and equipment used in these important aids to navigation. One example is a two-page illustration that is an engineering record of the Block Island, Rhode Island southeast light from 1874, which provides descriptions of the simple Piano-Convex lens, the Buffon lens (circa 1748) and the now popular Fresnel lens, which was developed by Frenchman Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1821. This selected page also includes a comparative table of lens orders that describes how a Fresnel light of the first order (used for the largest seacoast lights) with four lamp wicks consumed almost 750 grams of oil each hour.

Lightships, fog horns, bell houses and sirens are also covered, giving the reader a complete overview, and sometimes a very intimate record, of the battles to keep the US shipping lanes safely navigable during inclement weather.