These coastal gems won’t be hidden much longer after you read “The Hidden Coast of Maine.” This is your road map to Maine’s gems. The photos will inspire you to jump in the car and head there — and there’s a very helpful set of directions to each one in the back of the book.

What surprised me the most about “The Hidden Coast of Maine” — published by Tilbury House, in Thomaston — is that I haven’t visited all of these places in my 65 years in Maine. Of the 83 sites in this wonderful book, I’ve been to 62. Now, I’ve set my sights on the other 19. And, of course, some of them are regulars for our weekly travel column.

Joe Devenney’s photographs are stunning, starting right with the cover that draws you in. I want to be there! Joe’s been a professional outdoor/location photographer for more than 30 years, published in many of the nation’s top magazines. And he lives right nearby in Jefferson — so it’s no surprise that Damariscotta Lake is featured.

I’ve been a fan of Ken Textor’s writing for many years. He’s written for Down East and other magazines, and was the boating columnist for the Sunday Telegram. His essays in this book are insightful, interesting and informative. Many focus on the details of coastal venues — things you don’t know about but will now make your visits so much more fascinating.

Let’s use West Quoddy Head, where my great grandfather kept the light for more than 30 years, as an example. Ken explains those fantastically huge tides that Lubec is famous for:

“The bulge of water … arrives twice a day from the east, traveling more than 1,000 miles an hour until it bangs into Southwest Nova Scotia, the submerged Georges Banks, and Cape Cod. Those three obstructions act together like a thumb over the end of a garden house, forcing the water to accelerate as it heads for its destination.

It’s the squeezing and acceleration that makes the water pile up at Lubec, giving the waters near West Quoddy Head Light a reputation for swirling and crashing about like no other place along the Maine coast.”

Thanks Ken. I’ve watched those tides since I was a kid, and never knew this! — George