The Port of Gloucester Book

This was a charming book about experiencing New York from its waterways - specifically, from a small catboat sailing those waterways. It interweaves one family's love of sailing, discovery, and New York with great nuggets of history and ecology. This book was most definitely a product of its times - the early '90s and early '00s. It reflects a New York beginning to wrestle with its waterfront environment in a decidedly post industrial era, yet before Bloombergian development. As such, it has a sense of optimism about preserving working and middle class spaces - from Greenpoint's waterfront to the Canarsie Pier - which didn't really pan out 10 to 15 years later. I wasn't expecting the book to be such a personal story, and I found that to be a pleasant, refreshing surprise. And I learned a lot - especially about Jamaica bay.