Closed Sea: From the Manasquan to the Mullica; a History of Barnegat Bay

Closed Sea: From the Manasquan to the Mullica; a History of Barnegat Bay by Mountford, Kent. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780945582847.

Closed Sea weaves together a colorful history of whalers and pirates, Revolutionary patriots and loyalists, fishermen and loggers, iron masters and life-saving crews, sportsmen and holiday makers. Filled with historical anecdote and keen observations of sea and shore, Closed Sea is a compelling portrait of the historical culture and ecology of New Jerseys Barnegat Bay region. With a naturalist’s eye and a sailor’s experience, the author opens our eyes to the Jersey Shore’s past, its shifting inlets, disappearing islands, dangerous tides and shoals. Moving inland, he explores the Pine Barrens environment and industries it has supported over the centuries. Closed Sea explores the remarkable history of a fascinating place, a place of great beauty, danger and opportunity, a place that has cast its spell on generations of people. The author “has had a fascination with Barnegat Bay since his college days; an affair of the heart, which blossomed into a book belonging in the library of anyone who has ever dipped a foot into this salt water. Closed Sea is a kind of historical, social, ecological Baedeker of the vast bay and the shores it touches,” The Beachcomber on Long Beach Island wrote in a review. “It is a masterful guide, before its time in many ways,” said the Asbury Park Press.