City on the Sand: Ocean City, Maryland, and the People Who Built It

In a little more than a hundred years, a desolate barrier island in Maryland became a teeming resort city. The story of how that feat was achieved is the heart of Mary Corddry's absorbing book. It is also the tale of opposites: the special affection thousands of Marylanders have for this unique place and the growing concern over the dune and marsh ecology and the effect of high density development on it.

Here is a narrative of shifting sands and shifting fortunes, recounting how Ocean City has weathered natural and economic setbacks to become, every summer, Maryland's second-largest city.