Euell Gibbons' Beachcombers's Handbook by Euell Gibbons  As a young man Euell lived off the land and sea for several years in Hawaii.  This is his account of how he found it, caught it, cooked it, and ate it.  It is much more.  You'll learn about culture, biology, history, food and more.  And, you will feel like your at the beach while you are reading.  We confess that we skipped several pages of recipes for coconut.

Tideland Treasures A Naturalist's Guide to the Beaches and Salt Marshes of Hilton Head and the Southern Coast by Todd Ballantine  We love field guides at the Atlanta Beach House.  This is the best.  It contains more than 200. 71/2" by 10"1/2  pages of hand-drawn illustrations of the: the sea, the beach, the marsh, the plants, the animals, and more.  Wonderful!

The Ocean Almanac by Robert Hendrickson  From Amazon, " .. facts, myths, mysteries, and tales of the sea."  Not actually a beach book but a load of fascinating material about that blue stuff next to our favorite beaches.  Pick it up any time, open it to any page and your at the beach.

A Field Guide to the Birds (Eastern Land and Water Birds) by Roger Tory Peterson  Mr. Peterson loved birds as much as we love the beach.  This is one of the earliest and most famous of the field guides.  We bought it in the 1970's and it has never let us down.  There are lots field guides these days so find the ones you like best.

A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore by Kenneth L. Gosner  Our copy is falling apart but we love it.

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures by Norman A. Meinkoth   A newer guide similar to the above.

A Field Guide to Shells of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies by Percy A. Morris  Honestly, our beach vacations rarely included great shelling but we enjoy identifying shells anyway.  Our two vacations on Sanibel were the exception and the reason we bought this book.

Living with the South Carolina Shore by William J. Neal, et al., Living with the Georgia Shore by Tonya Clayton, et al., Living with the East-Florida Shore by Orrin Pilkey at al.  There are more books in this series.  These books are about beach migration and practical (and impractical) ways to deal with it.  Each book begins with the science of barrier islands and man's efforts to control the beach.  Each book ends with how to build or buy a beach house.  In the middle there is a complete analysis of each inch of shoreline.  Sound dry?  If you like maps and want to know some geology about your favorite beach,  these books are required.

Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking by John Martin Taylor.  This is a cookbook alright but it is also a history of lowcountry food, agriculture, and recipes.  Plus, Hoppin' John is strict:  You'd better boil your shrimp with the heads on and you'd better make iced tea the right way.

Florida Beaches The Only Guide to the Best Places to Eat, Stay, Swim, and Play on every Beach in the Sunshine State by Parke Puterbaugh and Alan Bisport  These guys went to every beach in Florida and wrote honestly about each one.  This is great reference for beach lovers and tourists but it was certainly not written by the tourist industry.  On St. Augustine, "... the average length of stay is three days ... we were ready to split town in three hours."