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In the first complete history of Florida's American Beach to date, Marsha Dean Phelts draws together personal interviews, photos, newspaper articles, memoirs, maps and other official documents to reconstruct the character and traditions of Amelia Island's 200-acre African American community.
In its heyday, when other beaches grudgingly provided only limited access, black vacationers traveled as many as 1,000 miles down the east coast of the U.S. and hundreds of miles along the Gulf Coast to a beachfront that welcomed their business.
In a narrative full of firsthand accounts and "old-timer" stories, Phelts, who has vacationed at American Beach since she was four and now lives there, frequenhtly adopts the style of an oral historian to paint what is ultimately a personal and intimate portrait of a community rich in heritage and culture.

The author, Marsha Dean Phelts, a retired librarian lives on American Beach where she is available to give tours of this historic African American coastal community.