America's Best Beaches [Paperback]

Stephen P. Leatherman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

"Evidence that beautiful beaches still abound along America’s coastlines. . . . The book is filled with great photos that just might make you start planning your next excursion to the shore."--<i>Honolulu Star-Bulletin</i>

"A beautiful, full-color tribute to the beaches and their seas."--<i>Miami Herald</i>

Travel with Stephen P. Leatherman (a.k.a. Dr. Beach) along the U.S. coastline to discover hundreds of spectacular beaches--from the wild and rocky shores of Maine to the jewels for swimming and surfing in Hawaii--one of them bound to fit your personality.
 <i>America’s Best Beaches</i>, a full-color illustrated guide to 650 major public recreational oceanic beaches, describes all the national winners of Dr. Beach’s famous annual list of Top 10 Beaches. It also surveys the best beaches regionally for various activities: swimming, walking, surfing, sports, wilderness recreation, city action, and novelty events.
 More than an access guide, this book helps you
· compare key features--such as water temperature and quality, surf, and sporting opportunities--of beaches on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts,
· recognize less obvious advantages (city access, good beachcombing) and disadvantages (overcrowding, dangerous "rip" currents) of individual beaches, and
· identify the best beaches for you, using Dr. Beach’s 50 rating criteria.
Leatherman also provides state by state and beach by beach local contact information for access to detailed tourism materials.
 Grab your towel, put on some sunscreen, and join the nation’s top "beachologist" for an invigorating tour of <i>America’s Best Beaches.</i>

Stephen P. Leatherman, professor and director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is an internationally recognized expert on beaches. He has written 14 books and more than 200 scientific articles on his lifelong passion. Each year he announces his list of the Top 10 Beaches on the <i>NBC Today Show</i> during the Memorial Day weekend. Dr. Beach has been featured on Travel Channel’s World’s Best Beaches and on more than 60 television programs, including <i>The Oprah Winfrey Show,</i> and <i>Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,</i> and on the Discovery Channel and Travel News Network and has been profiled in such magazines as <i>People, Life,</i> and <i>Southern Living.</i>

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman is one of the world's foremost beach experts and a professor at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Each year Dr. Leatherman releases his ranking of America's Best Beaches on Memorial Day Weekend; the long-requested book America's Best Beaches was finally published in 1998. Dr. Leatherman has a Ph.D. in Environmental (Coastal) Sciences from the University of Virginia and a B.S. degree in Geosciences from North Carolina State University. He has authored and edited 13 books and written over 100 journal articles and technical reports. Dr. Leatherman has given expert testimony ten times to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the on-screen host and co-producer of the award-wining documentary "Vanishing Lands".

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

There is a complete range of water activities, and swimming is great in the calm, clear waters of Clearwater Beach. Pier 60 is quite long in order to span the wide beach and reach deep water for fisherman, but it is also great for girl and boy watching. Clearwater offers the visitor a wide variety of accommodations from historic to modern hotels and motels as well as good but very reasonably priced restaurants. The local seafood is highly recommended, especially shrimp and stone crabs when in season. Clearwater is a beehive of activity and rated the Best City Beach in the Gulf. To the south of Clearwater Beach is Sand Key Park, a natural oasis among skyscrapers that dominate this shoreline.

Caladesi Island State Park, just to the north of Clearwater Beach, is one of the Top 10 Beaches in the country. The waters are nearly placid, being protected by Honeymoon Island to the north. The white sand is soft and cushy at the water's edge, inviting one to take a dip in the sparkling clear water. Wooden boardwalks take you across the sand dunes and past the palm trees so that you can explore some of the inland trails or get a bite to eat at the snack bar on this offshore island which is only reachable by boat. Caladesi is a real getaway beach; it is the closest beach as the crow flies from Tampa, but few residents here have ever heard of it. This means that the beach is never crowded like the city beaches of Clearwater or St. Pete.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1 edition (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096634510X
• ISBN-13: 978-0966345100
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,128,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Over promotes Florida Beaches / Wierd selection., January 15, 2005

By 

G. Voevodsky "waves_dvds" (Portola Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Best Beaches (Paperback)

Having shot many of the best beaches in Hawaii, California, Florida, The Bahamas, Virgin Islands and the Caribbean, I have been to most of the beaches on his lists. About half of them deserve the awards, the other half has no reason. For example St. George Island has a brownish beach which turns the greenish water into greenish brown. It's rugged and interesting, but not what you'd imagine a 'best' beach to look like. If you really want to see what the best beaches look and feel like, check out the "Best Beaches" under DVDs here on Amazon.com.

19 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beach Book overlooks Great Lakes beaches!, January 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Best Beaches (Paperback)

I am an expert on the Great Lakes, and was senior staff for 6 years for Great Lakes United, an international coalition that protects the Great Lakes. I think Dr. Leatherman's book is excellent except one great omission. HE TOTALLY LEAVES OUT THE GREAT LAKES! For those who dont live near them, yes, they have great beaches. The Great Lakes have 3800 miles of shoreline, longer than the entire U.S. Atlantic shoreline. 8-mile long Presque Isle Beach in Pennsylvania is used by millions of people a year. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, near Chicago, is nationally famous. Nottasawaga Beach in Ontario, Toronto's prime summer vacation district, is the longest freshwater beach in the world! NY, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ontario and Minnesota all have long, clean sandy beaches. And they have something ocean beaches DONT have: they are on freshwater (not salty). The Great Lakes are called the Sweetwater Seas, and they are the largest collection of lakes in the world (and contain 25% of the world's freshwater). If Mr. Leatherman wants to be fair and complete, he will expand his book to include Great Lakes beaches in the future edition.

11 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible Dribble!, May 28, 2001

By 

Mr. Slabbaert (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Best Beaches (Paperback)

This is a terrible list of recommendation's "Best Beaches in the US". 1. Kaunaoa, Hawaii 2. St Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida 3. Poipu Beach Park, Hawaii 4. Hanalei Beach, Hawaii 5. Kaanapali, Hawaii 6. Caladesi Island State Park, Florida 7. Fort Desoto Park, Florida 8. Hamoa, Hawaii 9. Cape Florida SRA, Florida 10. Ocracoke Island, North Carolina 11. St George Island State Park, Florida 12. East Hampton Beach, New York 13. Westhampton Beach, New York

14. Perdido Key SRA, Florida 15. Siesta Beach, Florida 16. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 17. Hanauma Bay, Hawaii 18. Coast Guard Beach, Massachusetts 19. Carpinteria City Beach, California 20. Long Beach Island, New Jersey

Hanalei Beach, If that beach rates in the top 50 (And it doesn't) I would be surprised. Long Beach Island, New Jersey in the Top 20 Ha, There goes your credibility. I have been to many of your so called best beaches and they are NOT! This is a disservice to those who would plan a vacation based on this lousy group of "BEST BEACHES". I would be greatly disappointed if I thought I was standing on the top #1-20 beach's in the US. I would then plan my escapes outside the US., In search of the perfect Temp.,Water,Sand and Waves "BEACH". From the looks of this list anybody can write a book, I guess you can tell I think the list stinks!

Take my word and find your own Beach Paradise, these guys don't know what the HECK they are talking about! Hawaii at least has the top 10-15 beaches in the US.,If I wrote a book I would put more thought into what I would recomend!

Mr. Slabbaert