{"product_id":"fire-on-the-beach-david-wright-9780195154849","title":"Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers","description":"\u003cem\u003eFire on the Beach\u003c\/em\u003e recovers the heroic, long-forgotten story of the only all-black crew in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1871 the Life-Saving Service, the precursor to the Coast Guard, was created by Congress to assure the safe passage of American and international shipping and to save lives and salvage cargo. Although it was decommissioned in 1915, a century ago the LSS boasted some two hundred stations, and the adventures of the now forgotten \"surfmen\" filled the pages of popular reading, from \u003cem\u003eHarper's\u003c\/em\u003e to the \u003cem\u003eBaltimore Sun\u003c\/em\u003e to the \u003cem\u003eNew York Herald\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book tells the story of Station 17 of Pea Island, North Carolina, and its courageous captain, Richard Etheridge. A former slave and Civil War veteran, Etheridge was appointed Keeper of the Pea Island station, but when the white crew already in place refused to serve under him, he recruited and trained an entirely black crew. Although they were among the most courageous in the service, leading many daring rescues and saving scores of men, women, and children along the treacherous stretch of coast known as \"the Graveyard of the Atlantic,\" civilian attitudes toward the Pea Island surfmen ranged from curiosity to outrage. When a hurricane hit the Banks in the late 1890s, they managed to save everyone aboard the wrecked \u003cem\u003eE.S. Newman\u003c\/em\u003e. This incredible feat went unrecognized for a century until, in 1996, the Coast Guard posthumously awarded Etheridge and his men the Gold Life-Saving Medal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis courageous story of a group of men who battled prejudice as well as fierce storms to carry out heroic deeds illustrates yet another example of the contribution of one group of remarkable African Americans to this country's history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Wright, David Zoby\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195154843\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195154849\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/22\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.17lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.28h x 6.14w x 0.87d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKliatt\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2003 pg. 34","brand":"David Wright","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44044762185983,"sku":"9780195154849","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_47b920dc-af34-45cc-83c1-02d549aadc01.jpg?v=1684974740","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/fire-on-the-beach-david-wright-9780195154849","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}