Lighthouses embody the American spirit. They remind us of the brave mariners who scanned the dark horizon in search of beacons and the determination of those who kept their lights burning bright. Over the last three centuries more than 1,600 lighthouses were built to mark America's Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Great Lake shores. Today, more than half of them are gone. Some were bowled over by storms, others were blasted by cannonballs, and still others were replaced by more modern navigational facilities. Many of these majestic towers simply grew old, crumbled, and collapsed. When a light tower falls, an important link to our past is broken and a chapter of the American story is forgotten. That is, unless we take care to remember. This tribute to once bright lights provides rare photographs, fascinating facts, and first-hand accounts of the rise and fall of nearly 150 of America's most historic lost light towers.