A journey around America's historic coastline, where we encounter places and people that continue to shape our country. America has nearly five thousand miles of coastline. What would it be like to travel from the islands of Maine to the stepping-stones of the Florida Keys; from the cliffs of the Pacific Northwest to the beaches of southern California; and around the Gulf Coast, where our major rivers reach the sea? Here we travel with Walter Cronkite, our trusted guide. At Maine's eastern tip, we find a British warship captured during the Revolution by the citizens of Machias, wielding pitchforks because they had no muskets. We visit islands along Texas's coastline, exploring a sanctuary for migratory birds. And we visit Fort Ross, on California's Redwood Coast, a replica of the 1812 Russian settlement begun as a fur trading post, with dreams of expanding the Russian empire. In this compelling travelogue we can almost hear Cronkite talking, his smooth cadences spinning stories about the coastline he loves.

Author Biography: Walter Cronkite, former CBS News anchor, has narrated TV specials and written an autobiography. He has sailed most of the coastline he writes about here. He lives in New York and Martha's Vineyard.