Silent beaches, untold stories: New York City's forgotten waterfront

'Silent Beaches, Untold Stories: New York Citys Forgotten Waterfront' transports the reader into the extraordinary past and present embedded in New York Citys more than 600 miles of coastline through a stunning selection of rare photographs, history, new fiction, and contemporary art.

Each of ten chapters centers on one of New York Citys lesser-known waterfront spaces: Dead Horse Bay, where the pre-automobile citys legions of horses once met their maker; Hart Island, New York Citys still-active potters field, where over 800,000 of New York Citys unclaimed dead have been laid to rest; Sandy Ground, one of the earliest free black communities in the nation, made prosperous through oystering and strawberry farming.

Elizabeth Albert has written historical texts on each location, setting the stage where history, fiction, and image coalesce into a powerful and haunting experience. 'Silent Beaches' features the work of internationally known and notable contemporary artists, including Joel Meyerowitz, Mary Mattingly, Carrie Mae Weems, Joel Sternfeld, and Spencer Finch. 'Silent Beaches' also contains new fiction by Susan Choi, Nelly Reifler, Ravi Howard, Antoine Wilson, and others