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Praise for the Book

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“From his years of first-hand observations and thorough research, in combination with an exceptional ability for making what he has to say clear and compelling, David R. Foster has given us not only a different way of looking at the landscape and history of Martha’s Vineyard, but also at history and our human settings overall—and the inevitable influences of the past on the future. All in all, with its superb maps and marvelous photographs, A Meeting of Land and Sea is a stunning achievement.” - David McCullough, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Author of John Adams, 1776, and The Wright Brothers

"Opening this book is like opening a vault filled with discoveries about the natural and human history of a magnificent island. David Foster has created an important and unique work, a journey through time, about the creation and future of a magical place." - Jeff Fager, Executive Producer, 60 Minutes

“Mr. Foster’s book is lush and handsome, both exhaustive in its exploration of the island’s natural landscape and profoundly considerate of the human impact—past, present and future—upon that landscape.” -Alexandra Styron, The Wall Street Journal (read the full text)

“Even for those of us who do not live on the island, the idea of Martha’s Vineyard—people living in harmony with natural beauty—inspires. David Foster shows us how this waking dream is threatened, but also offers hope that the Vineyard can still offer an example of peaceful co-existence and kinship between humans and the rest of nature. A beautiful book.” —Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle

"This book is a masterwork that uses one small island to share the news of thousands of years of relations among people, land, and sea. Intimate and global as well as a history, almanac, atlas, and handy reference, A Meeting of Land and Sea is natural history that reads like a novel. It is an epic in which to wander for hours." - Jesse H. Ausubel, Director, Program for the Human Environment, Rockefeller University

“It is remarkable in the breadth of material woven together into that history. … The manuscript is a tour de force.” - Charles D. Canham, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

“David’s perspective is unique and important. He combines history and ecology in a way that brings special meaning to special places. This book could help guide the next chapter in the island’s history.” - John D. Aber, University of New Hampshire

"David Foster has created what is indisputably the most important volume about Martha's Vineyard ever written. With a combination of scientific understanding and gifted writing reminiscent of Stephen Jay Gould or Oliver Sacks and packed with fascinating illustrations, A Meeting of Land and Sea uses the lens of the island's natural and human history to explore a universal story about the way all creatures, including people, live within overlapping cycles of change and continuity." - Paul Schneider, editor of Martha's Vineyard Magazine and author of The Enduring Shore, A History of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket and Old Man River: The Mississippi in North American History