A new look at the West Florida and Alabama Gulf shoreline, in the context of burgeoning development and revised coastal regulations.

The first edition of Florida's Living Beaches (2007) was widely praised. Now, the second edition of this supremely comprehensive guide has even more to satisfy the curious beachcomber, including expanded content and additional accounts with more than 1800 full-color photographs, maps, and illustrations. It heralds the living things and metaphorical life along the state's 700 miles of sandy beaches. The expanded second edition now identifies and explains over 1400 curiosities, with lavishly illustrated accounts organized into Beach Features, Beach Animals, Beach Plants, Beach Minerals, and Hand of Man.

More than one transplanted Floridian has paid $150,000 for a beautiful condominium with a sea view only to learn that, to keep the building from becoming part of the view, considerable additional money must be spent to build and repair seawalls or to pump up new beaches by dredging sand from offshore. Most of Florida's beachfront property lies on narrow strips of sand called barrier islands, which are low in elevation and subject to flooding during storms and hurricanes. Some of the construction is poor, adding to the problems facing homeowners, most whom came from other parts of the country with little awareness of the hazards of beaches. In Living with the East Florida Shore, Orrin H. Pilkey, Jr., of Duke University, along with his co-authors, has described the varied problems that confront the east shore of Florida today.

Describes the animals the traveler is apt to encounter in the wild places of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendy, Lee, and Sarasota counties. Includes descriptions of 162 parks, preserves, and eco-destinations, their fauna, and amenities --

A call to live with the coast, as opposed to living at the coast; unless Florida coastal communities conserve beaches and mitigate storm impacts, the future of the beach-based economy is in question.

Thoroughly updated to include the most recent and fascinating discoveries in oceanography, the Fifth Edition takes great strides to be the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and student-friendly resource available today. Its content continues to span the four major divisions of ocean science: geology, chemistry, physics and biology, while maintaining the conversational voice for which it is acclaimed. The Fifth Edition boasts many exciting updates, including a new chapter on global climate change that educates students on global warming in the 21st century and its likely impact on ocean systems. With new end-of-chapter questions, new color photographs and illustrations, and an expanded assortment of Selected Readings, Invitation to Oceanography is a must-have in any marine science classroom!