The Lighthouse Encyclopedia: The Definitive Reference

by Ray Jones

A comprehensive, alphabetically arranged compendium of information about the history of lighthouses, lighthouse technology, relevant organizations, key people associated with lighthouses, and other topics is accompanied by a directory of more than 150 lighthouses throughout the world and dozens of full-color photographs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture, Reference

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Steve]

Very comprehensive with great photos.

[Darcee]

Lighthouse history and lore - a very specific and interesting slice of history.

[Shawn_H]

Review: The Lighthouse Encyclopedia

A delightful surprise. Only about 200 pages. The book has four main sections. The first traces lighthouse history from Egypt and Rome, with heavier focus on British, French, and American perspectives. The second covers American lighthouse history and shares lots of knowledge, personalities, and memorable events. The third works like a dictionary—alphabetical entries on lighthouse history, technology, and famous examples.

The fourth part, which is the most fun, is a curated guide to world-famous lighthouses you can actually visit.

The real star of the book? The photographs. Absolutely stunning. The work of photographer Bruce Roberts especially left a deep impression. Beautiful.

I've never actually climbed a lighthouse, but my soul has traveled through thousands of them. As early as 280 BC, the first recorded lighthouse rose on the banks of the Nile at Pharos—and that word still echoes in our modern word for lighthouse. But in the East, wasn't there a Yangtze River Delta—three times larger than the Nile Delta—that gave birth to even greater lighthouses? I can almost hear the waves.

[John Anderson]

Nice Pictures, some history. Would have liked to learn more about the construction methods of some of the unique structures and more in-depth history of some of the more famous lights.

[Josh Liller]

The title is a bit too lofty, but this is still a good book for learning about lighthouses. The book has three parts: a history of lighthouses, a list of lighthouse terms, and a partial list of lighthouses around the world. The history section is a good short history, although very US-centric. The terms list is pretty thorough and useful. The lighthouse list is far from complete with about 200 lighthouses out of more than 1000 in the US (about 700 still standing) and upwards of another 1000 in the rest of the world. However, the formatting and information is nicely standardized and the lighthouses listed provide a wide selection of styles, sizes, ages, and locations. This book doesn't live up to its "definitive" title, but if you were to read only one book about lighthouses this is by far the best I have come across.

[Patrick]

I have always liked lighthouses so acquiring this book was a given. It is more of a coffee table book, but I finally sat down and went thru the entire book. Very nice book with some nice photos. The listing of included lighthouses, while seemingly a lot, is only a sample of those around the world. For 15 years I lived about 6 miles from a historic lighthouse in Oregon. And 40 miles from the next nearest lighthouse. But neither were mentioned so I was slightly disappointed. In order to list all the lighthouses in the world, the book would probably be 3 times as thick so the situation is understood. Still a nice book. The book that covers all known or past lighthouses is yet another future acquisition.

[Daniel Greear]

The Lighthouse Encyclopedia: The Definite Reference by Ray Jones:

Bought in 2007 in Key West, Florida, still in my possession after all of these years. This is an excellent refence to the world's amazing lighthouses and their histories. Also full of beautiful photography. All around and excellent coffee table book.

[Winnie Thornton]

Read (okay, skimmed) this for novel-writing research. Great photos.

[Preston Clocksin]

Good read

Excellent overview of American lighthouses and some others from around the world. Shows a plethora of shapes, sizes and architectures.