The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach
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- Create Date：2022-06-27 06:51:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Sarah Stodola
- ISBN：0062951629
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Summary
A captivating exploration of beach resort culture—from its roots in fashionable society to its undervalued role in today’s world economy—as the industry approaches a climate reckoning
With its promise of escape from the strains of everyday life， the beach has a hold on the popular imagination as the ultimate paradise。 In The Last Resort， Sarah Stodola dives into the psyche of the beachgoer and gets to the heart of what drives humans to seek out the sand。 At the same time， she grapples with the darker realities of resort culture: strangleholds on local economies， reckless construction， erosion of beaches， weighty carbon footprints， and the inevitable overdevelopment and decline that comes with a soaring demand for popular shorelines。
The Last Resort weaves Stodola’s firsthand travel notes with her exacting journalism in an enthralling report on the past， present， and future of coastal travel。 She takes us from Monte Carlo， where the pursuit of pleasure first became part of the beach resort experience， to a village in Fiji that was changed irrevocably by the opening of a single resort; from the overdevelopment that stripped Acapulco of its reputation for exclusivity to Miami Beach， where extreme measures are underway to prevent the barrier island from vanishing into the ocean。
In the twenty-first century， beach travel has become central to our globalized world—its culture， economy， and interconnectedness。 But with sea levels likely to rise at least 1。5 to 3 feet by the end of this century， beaches will become increasingly difficult to preserve， and many will disappear altogether。 What will our last resort be when water begins to fill the lobbies？
With its promise of escape from the strains of everyday life， the beach has a hold on the popular imagination as the ultimate paradise。 In The Last Resort， Sarah Stodola dives into the psyche of the beachgoer and gets to the heart of what drives humans to seek out the sand。 At the same time， she grapples with the darker realities of resort culture: strangleholds on local economies， reckless construction， erosion of beaches， weighty carbon footprints， and the inevitable overdevelopment and decline that comes with a soaring demand for popular shorelines。
The Last Resort weaves Stodola’s firsthand travel notes with her exacting journalism in an enthralling report on the past， present， and future of coastal travel。 She takes us from Monte Carlo， where the pursuit of pleasure first became part of the beach resort experience， to a village in Fiji that was changed irrevocably by the opening of a single resort; from the overdevelopment that stripped Acapulco of its reputation for exclusivity to Miami Beach， where extreme measures are underway to prevent the barrier island from vanishing into the ocean。
In the twenty-first century， beach travel has become central to our globalized world—its culture， economy， and interconnectedness。 But with sea levels likely to rise at least 1。5 to 3 feet by the end of this century， beaches will become increasingly difficult to preserve， and many will disappear altogether。 What will our last resort be when water begins to fill the lobbies？
Reviews
The Atlantic
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"I am glad that 'The Last Resort' exists， because it gives me ammunition to shoot down the next island-vacation proposal。 （Let’s do a family hike！ Better yet， a staycation where we all read books in separate rooms！） At the same time， I am afraid that I am the book’s custom-built audience， given my wariness of beaches。 The people who might most benefit from this book—those who have bought into the myth of paradise with an ocean view， deleterious impact be damned， and have the means to regularly e "I am glad that 'The Last Resort' exists， because it gives me ammunition to shoot down the next island-vacation proposal。 （Let’s do a family hike！ Better yet， a staycation where we all read books in separate rooms！） At the same time， I am afraid that I am the book’s custom-built audience， given my wariness of beaches。 The people who might most benefit from this book—those who have bought into the myth of paradise with an ocean view， deleterious impact be damned， and have the means to regularly experience a version of it—don’t want their illusions destroyed。 If they were to receive 'The Last Resort' as， say， a （passive-aggressive） birthday gift， they might well immediately fling it into the giveaway bin。https://www。theatlantic。com/magazine/。。。 。。。more
Larry Hostetler
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Neither the title nor the subtitle gave much hint to the book's subject， except it had something to do with resorts and/or beaches。 Good enough to pique my interest。 What I discovered is a tandem of themes。 Yes， beaches are the central theme， with resorts as well。 But the interrelationship and impact， both historical and current， of resorts on the beaches they front， is the second theme。 It took me a while to get through this， in part because I wasn't expecting so much about the potential delete Neither the title nor the subtitle gave much hint to the book's subject， except it had something to do with resorts and/or beaches。 Good enough to pique my interest。 What I discovered is a tandem of themes。 Yes， beaches are the central theme， with resorts as well。 But the interrelationship and impact， both historical and current， of resorts on the beaches they front， is the second theme。 It took me a while to get through this， in part because I wasn't expecting so much about the potential deleterious effect of climate change on beaches。 The combination of resort development （and its misguided attempts at beach maintenance） and global warming are the peril in the subtitle。Yet the book covers far more。 A veritable "Whitman's Sampler" of beaches and resorts from around the world provides plenty of interest。 The author's experiences， both now and decades ago， provides perspective and retrospective。 I particularly enjoyed the history of many of the locations。Had I reviewed the book halfway through I'd have given a lower rating。 Either I warmed to the subject or the author did。 A good 4 star read。 。。。more
Cynthia
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Beautifully researched and written， this book chronicles the history and the future of beach resorts。 From the first beach resorts in the world to new and sustainable models of beach hotels， the author visits and discusses them all。 （Why didn't the rest of us think to study beach resorts？？？）。 She presents a rise and fall of such places， showing how they go from the trendy places for the jet set to hang out， decline as the destination falls out of favor， then eventually close or even decay。Much o Beautifully researched and written， this book chronicles the history and the future of beach resorts。 From the first beach resorts in the world to new and sustainable models of beach hotels， the author visits and discusses them all。 （Why didn't the rest of us think to study beach resorts？？？）。 She presents a rise and fall of such places， showing how they go from the trendy places for the jet set to hang out， decline as the destination falls out of favor， then eventually close or even decay。Much of this book focuses on sustainability and environmental issues。 As sea levels rise， this is no purely academic discussion。 （She'll tell you why Miami floods on a cloudless day。） As humans seek to play in the sun and sand， those high density hotels take their toll on the coast， contributing to the erosion of the very beaches that make the vacation destination so special。 A number of potential solutions to these problems are presented。 This book would be perfect for college or grad level courses on urban development and land use。As an owner of beachfront property， I found this book fascinating and insightful。 I came away from the book appreciating my low density， sleepy， quiet little corner of Florida and now know how precious and precarious it is。 I hope this book helps to keep such places safe for future generations。 。。。more
H。B
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I received this book for free through a 'Goodreads First Reads' giveaway。First of all， I was completely amazed by the amount of research the author underwent to complete this novel。 The Last Resort is one of a kind; it includes history， detailed descriptions， the author's first-hand experiences at each of the locations， and the author's personal travel notes - all of which paint a thorough picture of the location and what your experiences might be like there。 My favorite aspect of this book was I received this book for free through a 'Goodreads First Reads' giveaway。First of all， I was completely amazed by the amount of research the author underwent to complete this novel。 The Last Resort is one of a kind; it includes history， detailed descriptions， the author's first-hand experiences at each of the locations， and the author's personal travel notes - all of which paint a thorough picture of the location and what your experiences might be like there。 My favorite aspect of this book was the small minute details the author included of what she saw and experienced at each resort， such as the weather， the employees， the costs， the locals， the tourists， the food， etc。 Theres's even details of what she observed tourists doing， like what was written on the shirts they were wearing and what they looked like posing for pictures。 The only reason I did not rate this book as 5 stars is because it was so dense with information that it was a slow and sometimes difficult read， but I was still captivated from the first page to the last！ 。。。more
Shawna Fox
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The Last Resort is full of eye opening information about the issue with rising sea levels and the impact that Vacation Resorts have on them。 It is a great read for anyone with concerns on the impact our lives and daily activities make on the Earth。
Karen Hickey
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Eye opening！
Cristina
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I received an ARC copy。 Good book about terrible beach culture。 Full of examples of how we have destroyed this planet。
Sherry Brown
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This is about the history of coastal resorts 。 The author Sarah Stodola takes you around the world sharing history and stories that will captivated you through out the book。 Very interesting and good！
Darius Ostrowski
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While preparing to enjoy spring break at a Caribbean resort， it was timely reading “The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise， Profit， and Peril at the Beach” by Sarah Stodola， an exploration of our （fairly recent） obsession with spending our vacations relaxing at the beach。Ms。 Stodola takes us through a bit of history of mankind’s view of the beach， for most of our existence the shore was a dangerous place， a place to be avoided or at least feared。 As with most cultural phenomenon， the British s While preparing to enjoy spring break at a Caribbean resort， it was timely reading “The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise， Profit， and Peril at the Beach” by Sarah Stodola， an exploration of our （fairly recent） obsession with spending our vacations relaxing at the beach。Ms。 Stodola takes us through a bit of history of mankind’s view of the beach， for most of our existence the shore was a dangerous place， a place to be avoided or at least feared。 As with most cultural phenomenon， the British seemed to have started beach vacations， going to their wet and cold beaches for the health benefits of sea air。 What the wealthy started， the rest soon followed。 Between the American east coast and the French riviera， the idea of beach as a glamorous escape started to take hold。 As the feasibility and cost of air travel became available to the masses， the exotic locales of the Pacific islands pulled people to travel even further to pursue relaxation and the allure of foreign cultures。But at what cost？ The environmental impacts （of both travel and the erosion of the shorelines）， the destruction of native cultures， the concept of “getting away” while isolating from the everyday life （and people） of these islands: all of this must be considered as we look at travel in the future。Ms。 Stodola does a good job of balancing both the good and bad of resort tourism， although one feels that the current models are unsustainable in the long run。 A balanced read at how we got to where we are and what we can do going forward。 But to be honest， it didn’t change my travel plans， but it did make me pause and think。I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Ecco via NetGalley。 Thank you！ 。。。more
Karen Clements
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This is part history of the beach resort and part appeal to stop the creation of "typical" resorts as we've come to know them。 Stodola is a travel writer and writes about her visits to a number of far-flung beaches around the world。 Her writing fleshes out what another writer calls the tourist area cycle evolution and how development first benefits the country where resorts begin but then， without thoughtful oversight， can damage the environment and wear out the local population and even the ver This is part history of the beach resort and part appeal to stop the creation of "typical" resorts as we've come to know them。 Stodola is a travel writer and writes about her visits to a number of far-flung beaches around the world。 Her writing fleshes out what another writer calls the tourist area cycle evolution and how development first benefits the country where resorts begin but then， without thoughtful oversight， can damage the environment and wear out the local population and even the very beaches that first drew travelers。 She concludes with a list of ways to improve both existing and future resorts--it won't be easy， but it may well be necessary。 I learned a great deal here and will definitely consider the author's recommendations when planning my next trip。 Recommended 。。。more
Abigail Allison
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I’m conflicted on how to feel about this book。 On one hand， The Last Resort by Sarah Stodola presents a fascinating exploration of beach resort culture， from its origins to the ongoing issues it faces。 Just like I would soak up the sun on a beach day， I lapped up Stodola’s presentation and analysis of various cultural histories， the long-standing effects of colonialism and capitalism， and her prescient information on climate change。 The book shines when discussing the effects beach resort cultur I’m conflicted on how to feel about this book。 On one hand， The Last Resort by Sarah Stodola presents a fascinating exploration of beach resort culture， from its origins to the ongoing issues it faces。 Just like I would soak up the sun on a beach day， I lapped up Stodola’s presentation and analysis of various cultural histories， the long-standing effects of colonialism and capitalism， and her prescient information on climate change。 The book shines when discussing the effects beach resort culture has on climate change and how climate change will affect the future of the beach vacation。 On the other hand， the author presents her strong research and sharp intellectual insights alongside what reads as a disgruntled Tripadvisor review。 She complains about weak drinks and cranky hotel staff。 She body shames the average beachgoer and criticizes them for eating air-temperature French fries。 All told， the reading experience is rather incongruent as the author presents an incisive examination of the macro problems of beach resort culture， while simultaneously jet-setting to luxury beach resorts and offering up a laundry list of micro personal grievances。 That said， there’s a lot of good here。 The Fiji chapter is especially strong， if not particularly bleak。 Stodola writes about the demise of Fijian culture， and the island’s native flora and fauna， to capitalist resort culture with urgency and compassion。 In later chapters， Stodola offers an excellent analysis of the cycle of tourism development， and an enlightening discussion on the dance between new resort development and raising insurance premiums as climate change presents escalating risk。 Even with my criticism of the travelogue parts of the book， I’d still recommend The Last Resort to anyone interested in micro-histories and nonfiction。 I also think this would be a wonderful intro text to anyone interested in learning about climate change as it’s happening in the real world。 Now， please excuse me as I prepare for my trip to the Florida Keys next week。 The goal is to leave my worries on the mainland， but as I sip on a Rum Runner， I imagine The Last Resort by Sarah Stodola will be on my mind and I’m glad to be leaving for my own beach vacation with this new perspective。 。。。more
Jeremy
，
An excellent look at the history of humans and their relationship with the beach as a place of leisure。 The author takes us on a historical worldwide tour of the up and coming and the hot beach spots of the past while weaving in history， ecology， tourism philosophies， and how much she （like all of us） enjoys a cocktail while taking in the sun， the waves， and a gentle sea breeze。 Recommended for all travel readers， all micro-history readers， and heck， why not read a book about the beach when you An excellent look at the history of humans and their relationship with the beach as a place of leisure。 The author takes us on a historical worldwide tour of the up and coming and the hot beach spots of the past while weaving in history， ecology， tourism philosophies， and how much she （like all of us） enjoys a cocktail while taking in the sun， the waves， and a gentle sea breeze。 Recommended for all travel readers， all micro-history readers， and heck， why not read a book about the beach when you head to the beach！ 。。。more
Cat
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