All Summer Long captures behind-the-scenes stories of beach culture and life over a span of seven decades (particularly the ? 60s and ? 70s) as seen and told by lifeguards in their own words. Whether you are a beachgoer or one of the few who has guarded our shores, many of these accounts will bring back memories of good days gone by. Author Gordon Hesse lifeguarded for ten years on the beaches of New Jersey and Florida. Based on his own experiences and interviews with nearly three dozen men and women lifeguards (most from Lavallette, a small coastal town on the Jersey Shore), All Summer Long is a compilation of beach tales and lore that traces the evolution of lifeguarding on the Atlantic. Drawn from a long oral tradition, these first-person accounts and recollections tell of triumphs and tragedies and offer insight into lifeguarding's heritage, training, hazing rituals, friendships, social scene, and more.