Customer Reviews

Seacoast Fortifications of the United States: An Introductory History

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In the thirty years since this book was published, one always hoped another would equal or surpass it. None has, or perhaps ever will. It is a marvelous history of the Forts along the American Seacoast, both Atlantic and Pacific, and even the Phillipines. Any Fort enthusiast MUST read this book. The author captures so much information, so many views, so much perspective in so few pages, the book is breathtaking. It is easily the finest book on its chosen subject, which is why it never goes out of print. If Forts interest you, Read it. Period.

The photographs from the author's collection, the army's files, the National Archives, etc. are worth its price. But the text, the clear delineation of the periods of Fort Building since 1794 in the US, and the differentiation of the periods, are so worth while.

Ray manages to be both terse, and pithy. It is a great tribute to any author to say that.

This is a MUST read for anyone interested in the subject, even one only interested in their own local Fort, and how it relattes to the defense plans of the United States when it was built.

There is NO better book to read on the subject. None.

A wonderfully written book that will interest anyone that has visited one, or more of the many old forts up and down the East Coast of the United States. This book will be extremely fascinating to anyone with the least bit of curiosity about old forts. The author is very knowledgable about the subject matter and does a brilliant job of conveying information in a way that makes it understandable to an amateur, while still being insightful to a professional in the field of coastal fortification history.

This is the only book which attempts to provide an overview of the history of seacoast fortification in the U.S. Although general in nature, it is a superb reference in regard to the evolution of coastal fortification. It contains many excellent photographs of representative fortifications. A must have for those interested in military fortifications, particularly those of the U.S

Ray Lewis has provided a super walk through the history of seacoast artillery in America. Nobody has done it better.

The three coasts of the United States are dotted with the remains of old fortifications, most in various states of neglect and decay. A few, such as Fort Monroe in Virginia, Castle Clinton in New York, and Fort Adams in Rhode Island, are in good repair. Some, such as Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida, date back to colonial times. Few tourists understand that these structures once constituted a key component of the defense of the country. Ray Lewis' "Seacoast Fortifications of the United States" provides a monograph-length introduction into the story behind those old forts.

In just 145 pages of superb text supplemented by an excellent selection of black and white photographs and diagrams, Lewis maps the history of US land-based seacoast defense, a long neglected topic. Lewis identifies three stages in the construction of a network of forts around the major ports and river mouths on three coasts. His narrative traces the evolution of construction from dirt to stone to concrete, and the effort to adapt building technique to different terrain and changing threat. The last pages include US coastal defense constructed in Panama and the Philippens prior to World War II.

"Seacoast Fortifications of the United States" is very highly recommended to students of the military art as a highly readable introduction into what once our first line of defense.

Hi, I was planning on buying this book, but happened to see it at the Wichita Public Library. The book is full of old pictures, both of the forts while in use, and from the 1960's when the bood was written. The amount of data is great, and the book itself is well written. The book is written at medium level, enough detail so that you understand why the forts are built like they were, but not so much that you fall asleep. I have visited Fort MacArthur in Los Angeles and Fort Morgan near Mobile Alabama, so I have seen examples of the book's subject.
Mike