Birlinn

This collection of Norman MacCaig's poems is offered as the definitive edition of his work. It has been edited by his son, Ewen. A prolific writer, MacCaig left about 600 unpublished poems after his death; 99 have been selected for inclusion here. The aim of the selection process was to sustain the overall quality of the 1990 Collected Poems, which was compiled by the poet. Unusually, MacCaig's creativity did not decline with age, and most of the unpublished poems date from his seventies and early eighties, adding significantly to his published work from that period.
Insight to the writer's life and work is provided in an appreciative introduction by author and critic Alan Taylor, focusing on MacCaig's life and times, and in a collection of MacCaig's words on his own and others' writing.

New and Updated Edition
Who owns Scotland? How did they get it? What happened to all the common land in Scotland? Has the Scottish Parliament made any difference? Can we get our common good land back? In this book, Andy Wightman updates the statistics of landownership in Scotland and explores how and why landowners got their hands on the millions of acres of land that were once held in common.
He tells the untold story of how Scotland's legal establishment and politicians managed to appropriate land through legal fixes. Have attempts to redistribute this power more equitably made any difference, and what are the full implications of the recent debt-fuelled housing bubble, the Smith Commission and the new Scottish Government's proposals on land reform? For all those with an interest in urban and rural land in Scotland, this updated edition of The Poor Had No Lawyers provides a fascinating analysis of one the most important political questions in Scotland.

This is the story of Scotland as it's never been told before. From the 4th millennium BC, when the first Scot was expelled from Eden, right up to the 21st century, when US intelligence identified a distillery on Islay as a possible threat to world peace, Ian Crofton presents a host of little-known tales that you won't find in conventional history books.
Packed with fascinating facts and extraordinary events, Scottish History Without the Boring Bits also includes some remarkable personalities, such as the duke who ate his own fingers, the poet who sought inspiration from a tooth, the vampire-hunting children of the Gorbals, and the MP accused of stealing his ex-mistress's knickers.

The Great Wood of Caledon — the historic native forest of Highland Scotland — has a reputation as potent and misleading as the wolves that ruled it. The popular image is of an impassable, sun-snuffing shroud, a Highlandswide jungle infested by wolf, lynx, bear, beaver, wild white cattle, wild boar, and wilder painted men.
Jim Crumley shines a light into the darker corners of the Great Wood, to re-evaluate some of the questionable elements of its reputation, and to assess the possibilities of its partial resurrection into something like a national forest. The book threads a path among relict strongholds of native woodland, beginning with a soliloquy by the Fortingall Yew, the one tree in Scotland that can say of the hey-day of the Great Wood 5,000 years ago: 'I was there.' The journey is enriched by vivid wildlife encounters, a passionate and poetic account that binds the slow dereliction of the past to an optimistic future.

William Wallace set an example of constancy and perseverance and became the Guardian of Scotland. Even his terrible death in London in 1305 can be seen as a victory as it provided inspiration for continuance of struggle against English domination. This book investigates various aspects of Wallace's life and character.

Midwinter, a freezing night in Leith, near Edinburghxe2x80x99s red light district. A policewomanxe2x80x99s flashlight stabs the darkness in a snow-covered cemetery. The circle of light stops on a colourless, dead face.
It is the body of a prostitute, the first to die at the hands of a serial murderer. But it takes more than one death to keep working girls off the streets. Detective Sergeant Alice Rice joins them as they ply their trade in back lanes and waste grounds, searching for evidence from the girls themselves. She soon finds that is dangerous for any woman to get too close to a killer who has nothing to lose.xc2xa0

Known as 'Britain's most beautiful shortcut', the Crinal Canal runs from Ardrishaig on Loch Fyne nine miles across the Kintyre peninsula to the west coast of Scotland. Designed by John Rennie after initial survey work by James Watt in 1771, the canal was opened in 1801, with further improvements made by Thomas Telford in the second decade of the nineteenth century.

The canal was originally planned to save commercial ships having to make the long journey from the industrial region around Glasgow round the Mull of Kintyre to reach the west coast and Hebridean islands. By 1854, 33,000 passengers, 22,000 sheep and 2000 cattle had been transported along it. These days the canal is a popular route for leisure craft.

In the book Marian Pallister tells the story of the canal from its origins to the present day, discussing how it was built, who built it, how it changed life in the surrounding areas, and how it has been used.

The ever-expanding world of whisky can be a daunting one, with a deluge of new brands, distilleries and literature on the subject making it all but impossible for the amateur whisky drinker to find their feet in the industry. Following on from the bestselling Pocket Guide to Wine, Blair Bowman provides a compact and accessible, easy-to-use guide to help budding whisky enthusiasts on their way. Uniquely, The Pocket Guide to Whisky explores every kind of whisky, from the well known Scottish giants of Glenlivet, to the exotic Japanese Hibiki, and includes the evergrowing and hotly debated blended whiskies too!This little volume will tell you everything you need to know, from what to look for in whisky and what to avoid, to getting the best value for money to the perfect accompaniments to your dram and the ideal whisky for every occasion. From novice to expert, this guide enables whisky lovers to find out more about the brands they already like and to make informed choices as they explore further.

Death is the inevitable fate of every single person on earth. How do we accept the inevitability of our own death? How do we live our lives with meaning? Will money lead us to happiness? Satish Modi examines these questions is a moving, powerful, thought-provoking work based on his own reflections as well as the experiences of people from all walks of life. The result is a fascinating book that teaches us that whoever we are and whatever our aspirations in this life, it is important for each and every one of us to accept our own passing. In doing so we can free ourselves to live as well and fully as possible, guided by the principles of goodness, love and compassion.

The acclaimed Scottish historian offers a provocative reassessment of one of British royalty’s most famous figures in this authoritative biography.Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, has long been portrayed as one of history’s romantically tragic figures. Devious, naive, beautiful and sexually voracious, often highly principled, she secured the Scottish throne and bolstered the position of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Her plotting, including probable involvement in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, led to her flight from Scotland and imprisonment by her equally ambitious cousin and fellow queen, Elizabeth of England. Yet when Elizabeth ordered Mary’s execution in 1587 it was an act of exasperated frustration rather than political wrath.Unlike previous biographies of Mary, this masterly study eschews her romantic persona in order to shine a light on her role as a renaissance monarch. A leading historian of the period, Jenny Wormald traces the roots of Mary’s downfall to her way of dealing, or failing to deal, with the problems facing her as a ruler. She was tragic because she was born to supreme power yet wholly incapable of coping with its responsibilities.

A medieval historian “cut[s] through centuries of confusion and complexity” to uncover the mystery behind the legendary wizard in King Arthur’s court (Undiscovered Scotland).Who was Merlin? Is the famous wizard of Arthurian legend based on a real person? In this book, Merlin’s origins are traced back to the story of Lailoken, a mysterious “wild man” who is said to have lived in the Scottish Lowlands in the sixth century AD. The book considers the question of whether Lailoken belongs to myth or reality. It looks at the historical background of his story and discusses key characters such as Saint Kentigern of Glasgow and King Rhydderch of Dumbarton, as well as important events such as the Battle of Arfderydd.Lailoken’s reappearance in medieval Welsh literature as the fabled prophet Myrddin is also examined. Myrddin himself was eventually transformed into Merlin the wizard, King Arthur’s friend and mentor. This is the Merlin we recognize today, not only in art and literature but also on screen. His earlier forms are less familiar, more remote, but can still be found among the lore and legend of the Dark Ages. Behind them we catch fleeting glimpses of an original figure who perhaps really did exist: a solitary fugitive, tormented by his experience of war, who roamed the hills and forests of southern Scotland long ago.“Merlin haunts the landscape like a shade, and we’ll never catch him. But, thanks to Tim Clarkson, we can enjoy the search.” —The Hazel Tree“Tim Clarkson should be congratulated on producing a book which marries together painstaking and detailed research with common-sense and open-minded analysis . . . deeply impressive.” —Undiscovered Scotland

John Bannerman (1932–2008) saw the history of Scotland from a Gaelic perspective, and his outstanding scholarship made that perspective impossible to ignore. As a historian, his natural home was the era between the Romans and the twelfth century when the Scottish kingdom first began to take shape, but he also wrote extensively on the MacDonald Lordship of the Isles in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while his work on the Beatons, the notable Gaelic medical kindred, reached into the early eighteenth century. Across this long millennium, Bannerman ranged and wrote with authority and insight on what he termed the 'kin-based society', with special emphasis upon its church and culture, and its relationship with Ireland. This collection opens with Bannerman's ground-breaking and hugely influential edition and discussion of Senchus fer Alban (The History of the Men of Scotland), which featured in his Studies in the History of Dalriada (1974), now long out of print. To this have been added all of his published essays, plus an essay-length study of the Lordship of the Isles which first featured as an appendix in Late Medieval Monumental Sculpture in the West Highlands (1977). The book will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the Gaelic dimension to Scotland's past and present.

Highly regarded in India and Persia to this day, Sir John Malcolm is remarkably little known in his native Scotland. This book describes his extraordinary journey from modest origins to become a leading player in the transformation of the East India Company from a largely commercial enterprise into an agent of imperial government, during a crucial period of British and Indian political history.
Born in 1769, Malcolm was one of seventeen children of a tenant farmer in the Scottish Borders. Leaving school, family and country at thirteen, he achieved distinction in India over the next half-century. A quintessential all-rounder, he excelled in many fields: as a professional soldier he campaigned with Wellington in south India and rose to Major-General; as an administrator, he pacified Central India and later became Governor of Bombay. He led three Company missions to Persia in the early stages of diplomatic rivalry between Britain and Russia, the Great Game. He was fluent in several languages, and wrote nine influential books, including The History of Persia.
Based on extensive research in Britain, India and Iran, this biography brings to life the story of a talented and ambitious man living in a dramatic era of imperial history.

A biography that delves into the life and influence of the medieval Gaelic monk and missionary known as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.Who was Saint Columba? How did this Irish aristocrat become the most important figure in early Scottish Christianity? In seeking answers to these questions, this book examines the different roles played by the saint in life and death, tracing his career in Ireland and Scotland before looking at the development of his cult in later times. Here we encounter not only Columba the abbot and missionary but also Columba the politician and peacemaker. We see him at the center of a major controversy which led to his excommunication by an Irish synod. We follow him then to Scotland, to Iona, where he founded his principal monastery. It was from this small Hebridean isle that he undertook missionary work among the Picts and had dealings with powerful warrior-kings. It was from Iona, too, that his cult was vigorously promoted after his death in 597, most famously by Abbot Adomnan, whose writings provide our main source of information on Columba’s career. The final chapters of the book look at the evolution of the cult of Columba from the seventh century onwards, examining the important roles played by famous figures such as Cináed mac Ailpin, and ending with a study of the image of the saint in modern Scotland.Praise for the works of Tim Clarkson“Tim Clarkson should be congratulated on producing a book which marries together painstaking and detailed research with common-sense and open-minded analysis. . . . The book that emerges succeeds in cutting through centuries of confusion and complexity in a way that is deeply impressive.” —Undiscovered Scotland on Scotland’s Merlin“Very interesting and very readable.” —Facts and Fiction on The Picts: A History“A valuable resource.” —Scottish Genealogist on The Picts: A History

A history of Scotland’s relationship with France during the Age of Englightenment.Scotland has played an immense role in European high culture through the centuries, and among its cultural links, none have been greater than those with France. This book shows that the connections with France stretch back deep into the Middle Ages, and continue without a break into the eighteenth century, the Age of Enlightenment. In one way or another all the major figures of the Scottish Enlightenment were in close relation to France. Though this book attends to the broad picture of the cultural links binding the two countries, the focus is on certain individuals, especially David Hume, Thomas Reid, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson, and certain of their French counterparts such as Montesquieu, Madame de Condorcet, Victor Cousin, and Theodore Jouffroy. Prominent among the areas under discussion are skepticism and common sense, morality and the role of sympathy, and civil society and the question of what constitutes good citizenship. The book should appeal to all with an interest in the broad sweep of Scottish cultural history and more particularly in the country’s Age of Enlightenment and its links with France.

An account of the triumphs and tragedies, personal and political, of the controversial thirteenth-century Scottish king from the medieval historian and author.In equal measure state-builder, political unifier, ruthless opportunist, and bloody-handed aggressor, Alexander II has been praised or vilified by past historians but has rarely been viewed in the round. This book explores the king’s successes and failures, presenting a fresh assessment of his contribution to the making of Scotland as a nation. It lifts the focus from an introspective national history to look at the man and his kingdom in wider British and European history, examining his international relationships and offering the first detailed analysis of the efforts to work out a lasting diplomatic solution to Anglo-Scottish conflict over his inherited claims to the northern counties of England. More than just a political narrative, the book also seeks to illuminate aspects of the king’s character and his relationships with those around him, especially his mother, his first wife, Joan Plantagenet, and the great magnates, clerics, and officials who served in his household and administration.The book illustrates the processes by which the mosaic of petty principalities and rival power bases that covered the map of late twelfth-century Scotland had become by the mid-thirteenth century a unified state, hybrid in culture(s) and multilingual but acknowledging a common identity as Scots.

Stories learned while growing up on an old blue bus wandering through Scotland, for readers of all ages who love travel and adventure.I have been a gatherer of tales for most of my life, and I suppose it all began when I was a wee girl. I shared a home with parents, seven sisters and a shaggy dog. It could be said that I lived a different sort of life from most other children, because “home” was an old blue bus. We were known as tinkers or travellers, descendants of those who have wandered the highways and byways of Scotland for two thousand years . . .In this book, the author of the autobiographical trilogy Jessie’s Journey is on a mission to pass on the stories she heard as a girl to the young readers of today. With these ancient oral tales of Scotland’s travelling people, she invites readers to come with her on the road, back to those days when it was time to pack up and get going, and to take the way of her ancestors. Reading this book is like being by the campfire listening to the magical Scottish stories that have been handed down through generations.

A powerful and mesmerizing novel, both mythic and intimate . . . a great accomplishment of imagination, insight and lyricism' — Amy Tan 'Lavishly imagined and skilfully narrated' — The Independent Under Fishbone Clouds is a love story and family saga interwoven with traditional folktales and stories from ancient Chinese history. Set against the backdrop of dramatic events of recent Chinese political history, we follow the lives of Jinyi and his wife Yuying.

From the author of the And All That Series, a collection of stories of Scotland during World War I.Acclaimed children’s author Allan Burnett turns his attention to the First World War in a book of explosively exciting and emotionally charged tales of bravery and adventure. Featuring the true exploits of soldiers, spies, pilots, sailors and many others, these stories, all based on interviews with these heroes themselves or their descendants, offer a unique, personal insight into the First World War that no conventional history book can ever hope to match.DESC>juvenile nonfiction;world war i history;the great war;wwi;ww1;military history;scottish history;scottish military history;scottish world war i history;european history;british history;united kingdom history;historical biography;world war i biography;people & places;scottish people;scottish life during world war i;scotland during world war i;life during war;life during wartime;world war i soldiers;world war i spies;world war i pilots;world war i sailorsJUVENILE NONFICTION / History / Military & WarsJUVENILE NONFICTION / History / EuropeJUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / HistoricalJUVENILE NONFICTION / People & Places / Europe9780857901736Allan Guthrie

'Human relationships, especially as seen from a woman's point of view, are central: attraction, pain, acceptance, loss, triumphs and deceptions, habits and surprises; always made immediate through a storyteller's concrete detail of place or voice or object or colour remembered or imagined' — Edwin Morgan 'Dreaming Frankenstein is a rare thing: a book of poems which sparkles' — The Scotsman '. . . one of the few poets writing today capable of encompassing the matter of contemporary life in terms that are both attractive and thought-provoking' — Books in Scotland Liz Lochhead has built an impressive reputation as poet, playwright and performer, attracting a large and admiring public. Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems stands as a monument to her early work. Four collections — Memo for Spring (1972), Islands (1978) and Grimm Sisters (1981) and the title volume together provide a complete record of her poetry from 1967 to 1984. In Dreaming Frankenstein human relationships, especially as seen from a woman's point of view, are central. Attraction, pain, acceptance, loss, triumphs and deceptions are all made immediate through her imagery and acute powers of observation and through her flair as a storyteller.