Product Description
"He has captured in full the life of the island."—Washington Post Book World

A classic of Chesapeake Bay literature, Tom Horton's An Island Out of Time chronicles the three years Horton and his family spent on Smith Island, a marshy archipelago in the middle of Maryland's famous estuary. The result is an intimate portrait of a deeply traditional community that lived much as their ancestors did three hundred years before, attuned to the habits of blue crab, oyster, and waterfowl. In a new afterword for this edition, Horton brings the story of Smith Island, and its people, up to the present.

Amazon.com Review
Although the archipelago known as Smith Island sits in Chesapeake Bay, just off Maryland's eastern shore, it is in some ways a place lost in time and space. Lacking a police force, a high school, or a hospital, it still carries the flavor of another era. People earn a tough living from crabbing, which means 18-hour work days for six months of the year, and they still speak a heavily accented language that some scholars believe dates back to Elizabethan times. In 1987, Tom Horton, an environmental writer for the Baltimore Sun, moved with his family to this 300-year-old community. This thoughtful, well-written book is his record of the two years they spent there.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 9 reviews)

An Island Out Of Time

This was a great "look back" book for an old Chesapeake guy. A read that is full of rich detail. I loved it!
January 07, 2009

Tom Horton-from an Islanders perspective

Tom Horton doesn't always speak for his subject matter in books like "An Island out of Time..." but that tends to be a good thing. Islanders are more concerned for day-to-day matters than overall perspective and I know this well.
I grew up on Smith Island. I left to attend college and now live in the world from which Tom came. I appreciate Tom and his family much more now than when I lived there.
Tom Horton and his family came to Tylerton an outsider. Everyone, including them, knew it. They ended up leaving part of the family. If you want to begin to understand this complex and simply beautiful place then read Tom's books.
November 19, 2008

Delightful!

I received this book as a gift, never having heard of the author or Smith Island. After reading the book, I feel very lucky to have discovered a new favorite author. Tom Horton's book is a gem! He's a talented writer and Smith Island is a rare and beautiful subject. As an Iranian, I found his descriptions so enchanting that I plan to visit Smith Island someday soon.
This book is appropriate for all ages and especially for those who appreciate the environment and a simplicity to life that is fast disappearing.
September 13, 2005

Excellent Portrait of Chesapeake Bay Life

Notice that all the reviewers here live near the Chesapeake Bay. This bay will interest and speak to all those that have an interest in a society and environment almost gone. A super read, intimate in detail and beautiful in imagery.
September 03, 1999

An extraordinary writer on an extraordinary place

Tom Horton's great gift as a writer is his ability to conjure up the natural world in words. His memoir of his family's time on Smith Island is his best work yet. Note I said yet. A book by Tom Horton is always a cause for rejoicing. His environmental writing is up there with Aldo Leopold and Barry Lopez.
August 11, 1999

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