“I love everything about this hilarious book except the font size.” —Jon Stewart Although his career as a bestselling author and on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart was founded on fake news and invented facts, in 2016 that routine didn’t seem as funny to John Hodgman anymore. Everyone is doing it now. Disarmed of falsehood, he was left only with the awful truth: John Hodgman is an older white male monster with bad facial hair, wandering like a privileged Sasquatch through three wildernesses: the hills of Western Massachusetts where he spent much of his youth; the painful beaches of Maine that want to kill him (and some day will); and the metaphoric haunted forest of middle age that connects them. Vacationland collects these real life wanderings, and through them you learn of the horror of freshwater clams, the evolutionary purpose of the mustache, and which animals to keep as pets and which to kill with traps and poison. There is also some advice on how to react when the people of coastal Maine try to sacrifice you to their strange god. Though wildly, Hodgmaniacally funny as usual, it is also a poignant and sincere account of one human facing his forties, those years when men in particular must stop pretending to be the children of bright potential they were and settle into the failing bodies of the wiser, weird dads that they are.

WHEN YOU NAVIGATE THE COAST OF MAINE, A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS A Visual Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast takes the guesswork out of navigating Maine’s intricate, reef-strewn waters, ensuring that your next voyage through this coastal paradise will be picture-perfect. Inside you will find more than 180 full-color aerial photographs that provide "by-the-picture” navigational guidance for Maine’s treasured harbors, difficult passages, and hidden approaches. Author James Bildner has added chart segments and recommended course lines to these low-altitude photos, giving you a unique, at-a-glance guide to sailing around Maine. It’s like cruising with a masthead lookout to point the way. • Text descriptions of area with piloting instructions • Labeled approach lines • Low-angled photos with key navigation aides labeled • Chart segments from high resolution NOAA charts

You'll never fall into tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. Doing so is like having a trusted friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. That's because our guidebooks, unlike much of the competition, are written by resident experts--like Brian Kevin, the author of Frommer's Maine Coast, and the managing editor of Down East magazine. In this highly opinionated book, he'll help you sort through the options so you can tailor a vacation that's right for you. Frommer's Maine Coast covers all of the region's highlights--from the best beaches and lobster rolls to the most scenic places to hike, kayak, and sail. The book gives in-depth advice on how to tackle the wondrous Acadia National Park, the foodie scene in Portland, such small-town gems as York Village, Camden, Castine, and more. Our guide proudly contains: * Exact prices for every venue and activity listed, so there's never any guessing or nasty surprises * Detailed maps throughout, plus a handy pullout map * Savvy, hard-hitting reviews of restaurants, hotels, attractions, shopping, and nightlife in all price ranges, from luxe to backpacker-friendly * Helpful suggested itineraries so you can make the most of your vacation time

Instant New York Times Bestseller Longlisted for Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence 2020 New England Society Book Award Winner for Fiction “The Guest Book is monumental in a way that few novels dare attempt.” —The Washington Post The thought-provoking new novel by New York Times bestselling author Sarah Blake An exquisitely written, poignant family saga that illuminates the great divide, the gulf that separates the rich and poor, black and white, Protestant and Jew. Spanning three generations, The Guest Book deftly examines the life and legacy of one unforgettable family as they navigate the evolving social and political landscape from Crockett’s Island, their family retreat off the coast of Maine. Blake masterfully lays bare the memories and mistakes each generation makes while coming to terms with what it means to inherit the past.

"The Winter Coast of Maine" is the first fine art book dedicated to color photographs of Maine's coastal landscape made exclusively during the coldest months - a time of year that most visitors and summer residents rarely get to see. The Maine coast is a place of exquisite beauty at all times of year, but especially in winter. The topography of this region ranges from long sandy beaches in the south to tall granite headlands in the area known as "Down East." Photographer and Maine resident Ed Kenney has spent the last decade compiling a portfolio of stunning images capturing the essence of a coast that is at times serene and still, and at other times ferocious, stormy, and bitterly cold. A photographer for over a half century, Ed Kenney can barely recall a time when a camera was not close at hand. His skills were honed using a succession of film cameras that began with a Kodak Hawkeye and progressed over the years to an Arca Swiss 4x5. Although the view camera still sees occasional use, these days almost all capture is digital on high resolution sensors matched with the finest lenses. Thirty-three year National Geographic veteran Sam Abell has written the foreword to this volume in which he asks: "Was summer fiction? No, but without summer's growth the winter declares a hard granitic truth: All else is temporary." The luminous photographs gathered here forcefully make the case that while some things pass, many things seem eternal on "The Winter Coast of Maine."

Maine is known for its rockbound coast and pristine shoreline. Yet there is more to this shore than rocky cliffs. This book describes the origin of the more common "soft coast" of eroding bluffs, sand beaches, and salt marshes. A central theme is the formation of the present shoreline during the current ongoing rise in sea level and the ways in which coastal residents can best cope with the changes to come. Although it is not widely known, Maine is experiencing a rapid, uneven drowning of its shore at the same time that coastal development is at an all-time high. The authors explain how the shoreline is changing and provide a series of highly detailed maps that show the relative safety of particular locations on the coast. Specific guidelines for recognizing various safe and unsafe coastal settings are presented, as are recommendations for sound construction techniques in hazardous coastal areas. Photographs and drawings illustrate the danger of living too near the shoreline, and an up-to-date review of Maine's regulations governing coastal construction is simply and readably described. A bibliography of important coastal literature is also included, as well as a guide to federal, state, and local sources of information.