Going Down the Ocean, A Brief History of Ocean City, Maryland will
chronicle the long and colorful history of Maryland's premier ocean
resort. Beginning with the visit of the explorer Giovanni da Verrazano,
this book will examine the arrival of Asssateague's famous ponies,
visits by Blackbeard and other pirates, the birth of Steven Decatur, and
brave soldiers who fought in the Civil War. After Ocean City was founded
in the late 19th century, the resort became a mecca for vacationers, who
enjoyed the surf and sand along side the pound fishermen who worked
their nets a short distance off shore. During the 20th century, Ocean
City witnessed the arrival of the automobile, bootleggers, and German
submarines. Following the Second World War, Bobby Baker, confidant to
Lyndon Johnson, built a motel on the barren dunes to the north and
helped ignite the condominium boom that saw Ocean City grow all the way
to the Delaware line.