Sarah Stodola The New School for Social Research '05
A captivating exploration of beach resort culture - from its roots in fashionable society to its undervalued role in today 's world economy - as the travel 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 seaside. At the same time, she grapples with the darker realities of resort culture: the stranglehold on local economies, the reckless construction, the erosion of beaches, the large carbon footprints, and the inevitable overdevelopment and decline that come with the soaring demand for the seaside experience.
In The Last Resort, Stodola weaves firsthand impressions from her travels with incisive 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 21st century, beach travel - and the economic benefits, culture, and interconnectedness it offers - has become central to our globalized society. 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 hotel lobbies?
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