Readers will buy this book because they’re intrigued by the sketches. They’ll read it because it’s a compelling story of lighthouse road trips with sidebars introducing a wealth of lighthouse information.

This is a history of lighthouse building on the Great Lakes. Road trip sojourns introduce about 140 lighthouse sketches. Captions explain each lighthouse story and drawings introduce even more captioned lighthouses. Sidebars present a wealth of information explaining how lighthouses and their components work as well as the lighthouse establishment itself and other support services. An epilogue contains thumbnail sketches of lighthouses from around the world. In all about 400 sketches, maps, and diagrams illustrate the book.