Blei (2016) Inventing the Beach: The Unnatural History of a Natural Place

Nice report on Smithsonian.Com about our fascination of the beach by Daniela Blei.   These fragile and liminal landscapes are both spatial and temporal, and our interest is fairly recent.  For one reason is that vacations are a recent possibility.  Think Downton Abbey and Maggie Smith best line in the TV series, "What Is a Weekend?"
So for all the folks that head to the Cape of Cod this summer, enjoy your experience, since climate change will likely remove our beaches.