About the Author

Soon after Mark Carlotto moved to Gloucester he got lost in Dogtown in the middle of winter while hiking across the Cape from Rockport to his home in Riverdale. Carlotto, with his Ph. D. in electrical engineering decided to map the trails in Dogtown. He spent hundred of hours following every path and investigating every cellar hole he could find. Carlotto published The Dogtown Guide in 2007, which received a Preservation Award from the Gloucester Historical Commission the following year. Over time his explorations have taken him all over the woods of Gloucester and Rockport. The Island Woods, his latest work, maps, photographs, and describes the old settlement, granite quarries, and enigmatic boulders of Cape Ann.