Looking for stocking stuffers for your favorite nautical history buff? Have you seen Arcadia Publishing’s "Images of America" series of books?

I love them, and I’m not just saying that because my aunt wrote the one about Tacoma’s Waterfront. (Hi Caroline! Just drop the check in the mail. Thanks. )

Only recently did I realize that they aren’t limited to the Pacific Northwest. Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series covers a LOT of ground:

Not only that, but the series covers a lot of ground, topic-wise, as well. It ain’t all shipping and industry, by any means. That’s just the stuff I tend to like.

It seems to me there’s a reason these books are so attractive to us. In an increasingly homogeneous world, where a strip-mall in Idaho looks pretty much the same as one in Louisiana, these books help us preserve our sense of place and history. That might sound a little poetic for a gear and gadgets blog, but that’s the way I feel about it.