Birlinn & John Donald New Titles Catalogue Autumn 2016 by Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Ltd Birlin Ltd New Titles john donald  polygon  arena  bc titles august – december 2016 August –new December 2016

June 2005

Various

NOVEMBER 2016

Birlinn Food Bibles illustrated by Bob Dewar

Liz Ashworth is a Scottish food writer and food product developer, with a particular interest in using local products. Her most recent book is Orkney Spirit: Food Journeys with Liz Ashworth. Nichola Fletcher has written a number of highly acclaimed cookery books and in 2014 she was awarded an MBE for services to the Scottish venison industry. Shirley Spear grew up in Edinburgh. In her late teens she began her chosen career of journalism in Dundee, which later took her to London. There she met husband Eddie and Sarah, her stepdaughter. In the early 80s they moved to the Isle of Skye to run The Three Chimneys.

NEW IN 2016: The Scottish Oats Bible: Scottish oats are famous the world over. In this practical and imaginative book, award-winning cookery writer Nichola Fletcher features 45 recipes which show the remarkable versatility of different kind of oats. The Three Chimneys Marmalade Bible: Marmalade is an iconic Scottish food, traditionally made every year in January and February when Seville oranges are available. Shirley Spear, whose multi-award-winning Three Chimneys restaurant on the Isle of Skye is a magnet for foodies, has written the ultimate guide to marmalade – not just to making it, but to using it as an ingredient all the year round. The Chain Bridge Honey Bible: Since before history, honey has added delicacy and sweetness to the Scottish diet. Scottish honey, with its fragrances of heather, meadowsweet, clover and birch, is a unique, magical ingredient, and the Honey Bible features a host of easy-to-prepare recipes drawing on this wonderful resource.

ALL FOOD BIBLES Format: 156 x 111mm pbk Price: £4.99 Extent: 112pp Illustrations: b/w throughout

FOOB BIBLE COUNTERPACK ISBN: 9781780274065 THE CHAIN BRIDGE HONEY BIBLE July 2016 ISBN: 9781780273440 THE SCOTTISH OATS BIBLE June 2016 ISBN: 9781780273648 THE THREE CHIMNEYS MARMALADE BIBLE November 2016 ISBN: 9781780274133

June 2005

Aeneas MacDonald Whisky

OCTOBER 2016

with an appreciation by Ian Buxton

Aeneas MacDonald was the pseudonym under which noted author and journalist George Malcolm Thomson OBE wrote his one legendary book on the subject of whisky. He was also one of the founders of the Porpoise Press. He died in 1996. Ian Buxton has been working in and around the whisky industry for close to 30 years. He began writing regularly for Whisky Magazine shortly after it launched, and now also writes in a variety of trade and consumer titles here and abroad. He has published a number of books, including the bestselling 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die.

This is – in the opinion of many whisky writers and experts – the finest whisky book ever written. It is certainly the first written from the point of view of the consumer and is thus historically significant. But more than that, poetic and polemic in style and with its emphasis on the importance of single malt whisky and its concern to protect and inform the consumer, it remains fresh and relevant to the interests of today’s whisky drinker. It is a remarkably prophetic book, and with Ian Buxton’s shrewd commentary and analysis, combined for the first time with period illustrations, it is brought bang up to date for today’s generations of whisky aficionados.

‘If I could take only one whisky book to a desert island it would by Aeneas MacDonald’s Whisky’ – Charles MacLean

Format: 198 x 129mm hbk ISBN: 9781780274218 Price: £9.99 Extent: 160pp Illustrations: 15 colour illus. throughout October 2016

‘Airy, witty, full of sound knowledge and practical wisdom’ – The New York Times ‘The must-read whisky book – a wonderfully opinionated blend of facts, fallacies and prejudices best enjoyed with a dash of soda’ – Dr. Nicholas Morgan Head of Whisky Outreach, Diageo PLC

Also available 101 GINS TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE ISBN: 9781780272993 Price: £12.99 Hardback

June 2005

Charles MacLean Whiskypedia

SEPTEMBER 2016

A Gazetteer of Scotch Whisky Why does Scotch whisky taste as it does? Where do the flavours come from? How might they have changed over the years? The flavour of Scotch whisky is as much influenced by history, craft and tradition as it is by science. Whiskypedia explores these influences.

Charles MacLean has spent the past 30 years researching, writing and lecturing about Scotch whisky. He is the author of nine books on the subject, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky, and the authoritative Malt Whisky. He is a consultant to the whisky industry, and to Bonhams International Auctioneers, and sits on the judging panel of the International Wine & Spirits Awards.

Introductory sections provide an historical overview, and an explanation of the contribution made by each stage of the production process. Each entry provides a brief account of the distillery’s history and curiosities, lists the bottlings which are currently available, details how the whisky is made, and explores the flavour and character of each make. Charles MacLean has spent thirty years researching, writing and lecturing about Scotch whisky. Whiskypedia is the result of deep immersion in its subject. It will guide, entertain and inform novices and experts alike.

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780274010 Price: £14.99 Extent: 400pp Illustrations: Colour throughout September 2016

This is an extensively updated edition with up to date facts and figures as well as entries on brand new distilleries. ‘Whisky’s finest guru’ – Sunday Times ‘Charles MacLean writes like no other expert on the subject. His prose is informed and highly entertaining' – Independent

Also available FAMOUS FOR A REASON ISBN: 9781780272528 Price: £35.00 Hardback

June 2005

Alan McKirdy

AU G U S T 2 0 1 6

Landscapes in Stone The Landscapes in Stone series explores the unique geography of many different regions, from the heights of the Cairngorms to the streets of Edinburgh. Illustrated in full colour and accessible to beginners, these books are fascinating introductions to some of the most significant geological areas of the country.

Alan McKirdy has written many popular books on geology and related topics and has helped to promote the study of environmental geology in schools. Before his recent retirement he was Head of Information Management at Scottish Natural Heritage.

Format: 230 x 165mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273693 Price: ÂŁ7.99 Extent: 48pp Illustrations: Colour throughout August 2016

SKYE ISBN: 9781780273723 CAIRNGORMS (April 2017) ISBN: 9781780273709 Also available SET IN STONE ISBN: 9781780271514 Price: ÂŁ9.99 Paperback

EDINBURGH (April 2017) ISBN: 9781780273716

June 2005

Anne Cholawo

AU G U S T 2 0 1 6

Island on the Edge Anne Cholawo was born and brought up in Luton. She studied Art and Design at college and later became a graphic artist and studio manager at a number of advertising agencies in London, including Saatchi and Saatchi. She moved to Soay to live in 1990.

Anne Cholawo was a typical 80s career girl working in a busy London advertising agency, when in 1989, holidaying in Skye, she noticed an advert for a property on the Isle of Soay – ‘Access by courtesy of fishing boat’. She had never heard of Soay before, let alone visited it, but something inexplicable drew her there. Within ten minutes of stepping off said fishing boat, she had fallen under the spell of the island, and after a few months she moved there to live. She is still there. When she arrived on the remote west coast island there were only 17 inhabitants, among them the legendary Hebridean sharker Tex Geddes and his family. Today, including Anne and her husband Robert, there are only three. This book describes her extraordinary transition from a hectic urban lifestyle to one of rural isolation and selfsufficiency, without mains electricity, medical services, shops or any of the other modern amenities we take for granted.

Format: 234 x 156mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273495 Price: £12.99 Extent: 272pp Illustrations: 8pp col & b/w plate section August 2016

‘a remarkable tale of remote living’ – Sunday Post ‘magical’ – Daily Mail

June 2005

Jenni Minto & Les Wilson

NOVEMBER 2016

‘S Ann an Ìle Islay Voices Jenni Minto studied accountancy at Aberdeen University and worked for BBC Scotland in a variety of business support roles. She has played a prominent role in setting up Islay’s community owned wind turbine and currently works at the Museum of Islay Life. Les Wilson is a writer, and award winning documentary maker who specialises in Scottish Historical subjects. Jenni and Les are married and moved to Islay in 2011, after having a holiday home there for many years.

Many travellers have had their imaginations captured by the beautiful Hebridean island of Islay and have been moved to write about it, among them the renowned Thomas Pennant and Martin Martin. But Ileachs – the natives of Islay – have also been inspired to record their experience. Then, there were the business writers of Islay – the estate factors, distillery managers, and public servants with their revealing memos, legal documents and accounts of their endeavours. And there were the ‘nonprofessional’ writers – the diary and letter writers whose intensely personal musings give us startling insights into the lives of the ordinary Ileachs that historians all too often ignore. The written records of Islay are varied, rich and rewarding. This anthology distils the essence of Islay through a very personal selection of writing. Some of the writing is profound, some of it quirky, but all together it presents a revealing and moving ‘people’s history’ of Islay.

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781780272917 Price: £20.00 Extent: 256pp Illustrations: 16pp b/w plates November 2016

Roger Hutchinson

AU G U S T 2 0 1 6

June 2005

St Kilda

A People’s History

Roger Hutchinson is an award-winning author and journalist. After working as an editor in London, in 1977 he joined the West Highland Free Press in Skye. Since then he has published thirteen books. His book The Soap Man (Birlinn 2003) was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year (2004) and the bestselling Calum’s Road (2007) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize.

St Kilda is the most romantic and romanticised group of islands in Europe. Soaring out of the North Atlantic Ocean like Atlantis come back to life, the islands have captured the imagination of the outside world for hundreds of years. Their inhabitants, Scottish Gaels who lived off the land, the sea and by birdcatching on high and precipitous cliffs, were long considered to be the Noble Savages of the British Isles, living in a state of natural grace. St Kilda: A People’s History explores and portrays the life of the St Kildans from the Stone Age to 1930, when the remaining 36 islanders were evacuated to the Scottish mainland. Bestselling author Roger Hutchinson digs deep into the archives to paint a vivid picture of the life and death, work and play of a small, proud and self-sufficient people in the first modern book to chart the history of the most remote islands in Britain.

Also available CALUM'S ROAD ISBN: 9781841586779 Price: £7.99 Paperback

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780272931 Price: £9.99 Extent: 304pp Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates August 2016

Also available MARTYRS ISBN: 9781780273228 Price: £12.99 Paperback

Ben Buxton

SEPTEMBER 2016

Mingulay

An Island and its People Ben Buxton documents the story of a people and of this remote, barren and ruggedly beautiful island that lies at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides. Looking back through the annals of history, he uncovers the traditions of a hospitable, close community which thrived under clan rule.

Ben Buxton first explored the Hebrides in the 1970s. Later, while studying for a degree in archaeology, he investigated the archaeology and history of Mingulay. Ben Buxton teaches adult education classes in archaeology and is Curator at Wareham Museum.

But set in lonely isolation in the stormy Atlantic, with no proper landing place, absentee landlords and insufficient fertile land, life for Mingulay’s inhabitants was hard, and by 1912, the ‘voluntary’ evacuation of the island was complete. This is the poignant story of Mingulay and the life of its people – now lost beyond the grasp of living memory.

Also available THE VATERSAY RAIDERS ISBN: 9781841585536 Price: £9.99 Paperback

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273044 Price: £12.99 Extent: 320pp Illustrations: 16pp b/w plates, maps September 2016

June 2005

Alan Taylor

SEPTEMBER 2016

Glasgow

The Autobiography Glasgow: The Autobiography tells the story of the fabled, former Second City of the British Empire from its origins as a bucolic village on the rivers Kelvin and Clyde, through the Industrial Revolution to the dawning of the second millennium.

Alan Taylor has contributed to numerous publications, including The TLS, The New Yorker and The Melbourne Age, and edited three acclaimed anthologies – The Assassin’s Cloak (2000), The Secret Annexe (2004) and The Country Diaries (2009).

Arranged chronologically and introduced by journalist and Glasgowphile Alan Taylor, the book includes extracts from an astonishing array of writers. Some, such as William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Dirk Bogarde and Evelyn Waugh, are visitors who left their vivid impressions as they passed through. Many others are born and bred Glaswegians who know the city and its inhabitants – and its secrets – intimately. They come from every walk of life and, in addition to professional writers, include anthropologists and scientists, artists and murderers, housewives and hacks, footballers and comedians, politicians and entrepreneurs, immigrants and locals. Together they present a varied and vivid portrait of one of the world’s great cities in all its grime and glory - a place which is at once infuriating, frustrating, inspiring, beguiling, sensational and never, ever dull.

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781780273532 Price: £17.99 Extent: 320pp Illustrations: N/A September 2016

June 2005

Kenneth Roy

OCTOBER 2016

The Broken Journey

A Life of Scotland 1976–99 This is the second volume of Kenneth Roy’s trilogy on the history of Scotland since the Second World War.

Kenneth Roy founded the Institute of Contemporary Scotland in 2000; was editor and now columnist of online campaigning journal the Scottish Review and is chair of the Young Scotland programme, which encourages debate and exchange of ideas among young adults in Scotland. The first volume of his history of modern Scotland, The Invisible Spirit, came out in 2013.

This new volume brings the story much closer to the present day and traces the social and political threads which lead directly to the Scotland of the twenty-first century. There are wonderful highs and devastating lows. Along the way the author describes the oil boom in Shetland, gives a hilarious account of Scotland’s doomed campaign at the World Cup in Argentina and tells the astonishing story of the cloning of Dolly the sheep. This is far more than a conventional history: Kenneth Roy anatomizes an often dysfunctional Scotland which is still recognisable today. But as the book closes hope is just round the corner – or is it? The Broken Journey culminates in a referendum and the inauguration of the new Scottish parliament. The stage is set for the future that we now live in…

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781780274256 Price: £17.99 Extent: 320pp Illustrations: N/A October 2016

Also available THE INVISIBLE SPIRIT ISBN: 9781780272467 Price: £14.99 Paperback

June 2005

Christopher Fleet, Margaret Wilkes and Charles W.J. Withers

OCTOBER 2016

Scotland: Mapping the Islands Foreword by Magnus Linklater Chris Fleet is Senior Map Curator in the National Library of Scotland with particular responsibilities for digital mapping. Margaret Wilkes is a member of the Steering Committee of the Scottish Maps Forum, a Director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and Joint Chair of the Edinburgh Centre of the RSGS. Charles W.J. Withers is Ogilvie Chair of Geography at Edinburgh University and Geographer Royal in Scotland.

This stimulating and informative book reproduces some of the most beautiful and historically significant maps from the National Library of Scotland’s magnificent collection in order to explore the many dimensions of island life and how this has changed over time. Arranged thematically and covering topics such as population, placenames, defence, civic improvement, natural resources, navigation, and leisure and tourism, Scotland: Mapping the Islands presents the rich and diverse story of Scottish islands from the earliest maps to the most uptodate techniques of digital mapping in a unique and imaginative way.

Format: 250 x 246mm hbk ISBN: 9781780273518 Price: £30.00 Extent: 288pp Illustrations: Colour throughout October 2016

Praise for Scotland: Mapping the Nation ‘mixes lavish illustration with academic rigour and engaging anecdotes’ – Sunday Herald ‘much more than a visual treat ... elegantly written, thoroughly referenced and exsquisitely presented’ – Times Educational Supplement

Also available SCOTLAND: MAPPING THE NATION ISBN: 9781780270913 Price: £20.00 Paperback

June 2005

Daniel MacCannell

NOVEMBER 2016

Oxford Mapping the City

Daniel MacCannell has studied buildings, landscapes and townscapes for more than twenty years, and was awarded a Ph.D. in History and Art History by the University of Aberdeen in 2010. His previous books include Edinburgh: Mapping the City and Understanding Scottish Buildings.

Over the past four and a half centuries, the magnificent city of Oxford has been mapped for many reasons, few of which have involved the mere finding of one’s way through the streets. Maps were produced as part of schemes to defend Oxford from rampaging Roundheads, raging floodwaters, and the ravages of cholera; to plan the new canals and bridges of the eighteenth century and even to plan a Soviet ground assault on the heart of the British motor industry. For the first time, this lavishly illustrated volume brings together sixty of the most remarkable maps and views of the area that have been made by friend and foe since 1575.

Also available EDINBURGH: MAPPING THE CITY ISBN: 9781780272450 Price: £30.00 Hardback

Format: 250 x 246mm hbk ISBN: 9781780274003 Price: £30.00 Extent: 304pp Illustrations: Colour throughout November 2016

Also available GLASGOW: MAPPING THE CITY ISBN: 9781780273198 Price: £30.00 Hardback

June 2005

Craig Murray

SEPTEMBER 2016

Sikunder Burnes

Master of the Great Game

Craig Murray is an author (Murder in Samarkand), broadcaster and human rights activist. He was a member of the British Diplomatic Service for 20 years, British Ambassador to Uzbekistan 2002–2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee 2007– 2010.

This is an astonishing true tale of espionage, journeys in disguise, secret messages, double agents, assassinations and sexual intrigue. Alexander Burnes was one of the most accomplished spies Britain ever produced and the main antagonist of the Great Game as Britain fought with Russia for control of Central Asia and the routes to the Raj. There are many lessons for the present day in this tale of the folly of invading Afghanistan and Anglo-Russian tensions in the Caucasus. Murray’s meticulous study has unearthed original manuscripts from Montrose to Mumbai to put together a detailed study of how British secret agents operated in India. The story of Burnes’ life has a cast of extraordinary figures, including Queen Victoria, King William IV, Earl Grey, Benjamin Disraeli, Lola Montez, John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx. This is a fascinating tale of the real life ‘Flashman.’

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781780273174 Price: £25.00 Extent: 432pp Illustrations: 8pp b/w, 12pp colour plates September 2016

June 2005

Margaret M. Dunlop

SEPTEMBER 2016

Goodbye Berlin

The Biography of Gerald Wiener Margaret M. Dunlop is the wife of Gerald Wiener. Born and brought up in Glasgow, she became a teacher, and eventually a head teacher in the Scottish Borders. She met Gerald in Edinburgh and they married in 1985. She is the author of two fiction titles, Marching in Scotland – Dancing in New York and Blind Date in Gibraltar.

The 24th of March, 1939, was a poignant day for twelve-year-old Gerald Wiener. He was on a train pulling out of Berlin and he was on his way to the UK to escape persecution in Nazi Germany. He was one of the thousands of unaccompanied children saved by the Kindertransport. Looked after by two sisters in Oxford, his abilities as a scholar became apparent and from an early age he was set on the road to academic achievement. There followed a distinguished career as a research scientist in Edinburgh, where he made a genetic discovery that received international recognition. His research department was a centre of excellence and after he retired members of his department went on to make an astonishing breakthrough in genetics, the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781780274201 Price: £20.00 Extent: 320pp Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates September 2016

This book shows how one man’s life and achievements mirror the great events of the second half of the twentieth century and the opening years of the new millennium.

June 2005

David Swinfen

OCTOBER 2016

The Fall of the Tay Bridge David Swinfen was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and has lived in Scotland most of his life. He has written many books and articles on Commonwealth, American and Scottish history. Currently chairman of the Tay Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust and a professor at Dundee University, he lives in Broughty Ferry with his wife Ann, the historical novelist.

It took 600 men six years to build and was one of the longest bridges in the world. On its completion in 1878, famous visitors, including the Emperor of Brazil, Prince Leopold of the Belgians and Queen Victoria herself, came to pay homage to this marvel of Victorian engineering. Then, on the night of 28 December 1879, the unthinkable happened. Battered by an apocalyptic storm, the thirteen ‘high girders’ of the rail bridge over the Tay estuary fell headlong into the river below, carrying with them a train and all its passengers and crew. There were no survivors. What caused the fall of the Tay Bridge, and who was really to blame? Returning to the subject since the first edition of The Fall of the Tay Bridge in 1994, David Swinfen has meticulously analysed new evidence and now presents a solution to the riddle which has perplexed historians and engineers for generations: what really brought the bridge down?

Format: 234 x 156mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273570 Price: £12.99 Extent: 144pp Illustrations: b/w photographs, maps and diagrams throughout October 2016

June 2005

Walter Reid

AU G U S T 2 0 1 6

Supreme Sacrifice

A Small Village and the Great War The war memorial in the Scottish village of Bridge of Weir lists 72 men who died during the First World War. Their deaths occurred in almost every theatre of the war. They were awarded very few medals and their military careers were not remarkable – except in the important respect that they, like countless other peaceful civilians, answered their country’s call in its time of need.

Walter Reid studied at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh. He has written a number of acclaimed books of military and political history, including Churchill: Under Friendly Fire and Empire of Sand How Britain Made the Middle East. His most recent book is Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayal of India.

This book follows the lives of these sons of Bridge of Weir, not just as soldiers, sailors and airmen, but as husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and members of a small local community which felt their loss intensely. At the same time it also paints a larger picture of the war – of the politicians and generals and military campaigns which shaped it. The brave men of Bridge of Weir knew little of the wider context - their experience was of the little histories in which they fought and died. Readers of this book will understand what the 72 never knew: why and how the war was fought that claimed their lives.

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273501 Price: £9.99 Extent: 224pp Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates August 2016

Also available KEEPING THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN ISBN: 9781780273365 Price: £20.00 Hardback

June 2005

Angus MacDonald

SEPTEMBER 2016

Ardnish Was Home A Novel

Young Donald Peter Gillies, a Lovat scout soldier lies in hospital in Gallipoli in 1916, blinded by the Turks. There he falls in love with his Queen Alexandra Corps nurse, Louise, and she with him.

Angus MacDonald has lived all his life in the Highlands and is steeped in the folklore. He served in the local regiment, the Queen’s Own Highlanders, before building a financial publishing company that was sold in 2007. He now has businesses in recycling, renewables and education, and runs the Moidart Trust, a charitable organisation that helps people to develop companies in the West Highlands.

The story moves back and forth from their time at the field hospital to the west highlands of Scotland where Donald grew up. As they talk in the quiet hours he tells her the stories of the coast and glens, how his family lived and the fascinating life of a century ago: bagpiping, sheep shearing, celidhs, illegal distilling, his mother saving the life of the people of St Kilda, the navvies building the west highland railway and the relationship between the lairds and the people. Louise in turn tells her own story of growing up in the Welsh valley: coal mining, a harsh and unforgiving upbringing. They get cut off from the allied troops and with another nurse are forced to make their escape through Turkey to Greece, getting rescued by a Coptic priest and ending up in Malta. By this time their love is out in the open, but there is still another tragic twist to their story waiting on the way back to Donald’s beloved highland home . . .

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780274263 Price: £8.99 Extent: 256pp Illustrations: N/A September 2016

‘a genuine portrait of a time gone forever ... a very good read' – Rosamunde Pilcher

John Sadler June 2005

AU G U S T 2 0 1 6

Scottish Battles John Sadler's main specialism is in military history, as an accomplished author, lecturer, battlefield tour guide, heritage professional and historical interpreter. He is a visiting lecturer at the University of Sunderland Centre For Lifelong Learning since 1998. He lives in the North East of England.

Scottish history has been shaped and defined by a series of great battles. John Sadler gives the first full military history of Scotland for many years. From Mons Graupius to Culloden, he shows how terrain and politics shaped the campaigns and decisive engagements we still remember today. Battles such as Bannockburn, Flodden, and Culloden, have a resonance and impact far beyond Scotland. John Sadler weaves chronicle, narrative and analysis together in a masterly way, recreating the drama and passion of centuries past. Format: 198 x 129 mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273792 Price: ÂŁ9.99 Extent: 272pp Illustrations: 8pp b/w plates, maps August 2016

Also available BANNOCKBURN ISBN: 9781780272795 Price: ÂŁ7.99 Paperback

David Torrance

SEPTEMBER 2016

Nicola Sturgeon A Political Life

How did a working-class girl from Ayrshire become one of Scotland and the UK’s most prominent politicians? Identified as a rising star by the SNP leadership shortly after she joined the party as a teenager, when the Nationalists formed their first Scottish Government in 2007 Nicola Sturgeon swiftly became one of its most successful ministers.

David Torrance is a freelance journalist based in London, and author of a number of political biographies.

By the time Alex Salmond resigned as First Minister after the No vote in the Scottish independence referendum, she was viewed as his natural successor, leading her party to its remarkable success at the 2015 general election. In this book, David Torrance traces the life and career of a remarkable woman. ‘Indispensable . . . illuminating’ – Alex Massie

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273457 Price: £9.99 Extent: 224pp Illustrations: 8pp colour plates September 2016

‘A fascinating portrait’ – Euan McColm

Also available SALMOND: AGAINST THE ODDS ISBN: 9781780272979 Price: £12.99 Paperback

June 2005

Tam Dalyell

SEPTEMBER 2016

The Question of Scotland Devolution and After In September 2014, with the Scottish independence referendum, the United Kingdom came close to being broken apart after three centuries as one of the most successful political unions in history. Yet despite a conclusive No vote, the SNP took almost every seat in Scotland at the 2015 general election.

Tam Dalyell was born in Edinburgh in 1932. He joined the Labour Party in 1956 after the Suez Crisis and served as an MP from 1962 to 2005, first for West Lothian and then for Linlithgow. He retired as Father of the House and Scotland’s longest serving politician in 2005.

In this book Tam Dalyell offers a personal reflection on why the UK is on the brink of the most serious constitutional crisis in its history. But this is not just a history of why we have ended up where we are. Dalyell also offers sage advice and suggests ways forward which will inform debate as the UK moves into a new political era.

Also available THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AWKWARD ISBN: 9781780270890 Price: £9.99 Paperback

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273686 Price: £9.99 Extent: 208pp Illustrations: N/A September 2016

June 2005

Christopher A. Whatley

OCTOBER 2016

Immortal Memory

Burns and the Scottish People Christopher A. Whatley is Professor of Scottish History at Dundee University. He has published widely, and his books include The Scots and the Union (EUP).

Robert Burns was by far and away the most iconic figure in nineteenthcentury Scotland. Multiple editions of his works poured incessantly from the presses. Unprecedentedly large crowds gathered to commemorate him at huge festivals and at the unveiling of memorials. His work was at the heart of the palpable rise of Scottishness that swept Scotland from the 1840s through to the First World War, including demands for Home Rule. If Walter Scott imagined Scotland, Burns shaped it. He gave ordinary Scots in what had been one of the most socially uneven societies in Europe a sense of self-worth and dignity, and underpinned demands for political and social justice. In this major new book, Christopher Whatley describes the several contests there were to ‘own’ – and mould – Burns, from Tories through Radicals to middle-class urban improvers. But the Kirk condemned Burns as the Antichrist, deplored the Burns cult (‘Burnomania’) – a slur on a nation that prided itself on its strict Presbyterian inheritance. The result is a fascinating picture of the role Burns played after his death in shaping multiple facets of Scottish society.

Format: 234 x 156mm pbk ISBN: 9781910900086 Price: £14.99 Extent: 288pp Illustrations: b/w throughout October 2016

June 2005

David J. Breeze

OCTOBER 2016

Hadrian’s Wall

Paintings by the Richardson Family

David Breeze was formerly Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Scotland and is the author of books on Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall, Roman frontiers and the Roman army. He is an Honorary Professor at the Universities of Durham, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Stirling, and has an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.

Brothers Henry, Charles and Thomas Richardson painted nearly 80 views of Hadrian’s Wall between 1838 and the 1880s. Most were created by Henry Burdon Richardson, who accompanied author John Collingwood Bruce on his tour of Hadrian’s Wall in 1848. Only 17 were reproduced as engravings in Bruce’s books; very few have ever been published as paintings. They form a valuable record of the Roman frontier as it was during an important stage in its history, before the advent of the modern world. The production of the Richardson paintings, Bruce’s contribution to Wall studies and the achievement of John Clayton in conserving the Wall, are all explored, providing a fascinating background story.

Format: 210 x 280mm hbk ISBN: 9781910900055 Price: £25.00 Extent: 144pp Illustrations: colour throughout October 2016

Over 70 of the Richardsons’ paintings are published in the book, most with Bruce’s original description and a commentary by the author.

Also available THE ANTONINE WALL ISBN: 9781780273235 Price: £12.99 Paperback

Also available UNDERSTANDING ROMAN FRONTIERS ISBN: 9781906566852 Price: £30.00 Hardback

June 2005

Jonathan Wills & Mike McDonnell

NOVEMBER 2016

Bobby the Birdman

An Anthology celebrating the life and work of Bobby Tulloch Jonathan Wills is a Shetland councillor who describes himself as ‘a recovering journalist’. He got to know Bobby while working as a student reporter on The Shetland Times and later worked closely with him in the early years of BBC Radio Shetland. Later still, Bobby was the inspiration for Jonathan’s successful wildlife tour business, Seabirds-and-Seals. Mike McDonnell was the Mid Yell and Fetlar doctor for 25 years, during which time Bobby was one of the boatmen who ferried him between the two islands. Betty Tulloch was the district nurse and the couple were friends and neighbours of Mike and his family. Mike helped to found the Old Haa heritage centre in Burravoe, which now houses Bobby’s photographic archives.

Bobby Tulloch, known to his pals as ‘Tucker’, was the son of a crofter in the island of Yell. He’d started his working life as a baker and became, through his own extraordinary talents and a certain amount of good luck, a renowned field ornithologist, tour guide, author and wildlife photographer. He was also an accomplished musician and songwriter, a skilled fisherman and a daring (some would say reckless) navigator of small boats among big rocks. When he died in 1996 at the age of 67 he was mourned by hundreds of friends throughout his native islands and far beyond. In this book, some of those friends celebrate their many happy memories of his life. After a biographical sketch by Jonathan Wills the stories from other contributors tumble out – dramatic, insightful and usually very funny. The book is illustrated throughout with evocative pictures from those eventful days and Bobby’s wonderful wildlife and landscape photographs.

Format: 234 x 190mm hbk ISBN: 9781780274225 Price: £20.00 Extent: 224pp Illustrations: colour & b/w throughout November 2016

June 2005

Peter C. Jupp et al.

NOVEMBER 2016

Cremation in Modern Scotland

History, Architecture and the Law Peter Jupp is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh. Douglas Davies is a Professor of Theology and Religion at Durham University. Hilary Grainger is a Dean and Professor of Architectural History at the University of the Arts, London, and Chair of the Victorian Society. Gordon Raeburn is a lecturer in Historical and Philosophical Studies at Melbourne University. Stephen White is a retired Senior Lecturer from Cardiff Law School.

Changes in funeral practice provide a lens through which to inspect changes in wider social identity, values and religious beliefs. This book reveals how, in Scotland, as in other societies, death ways and funeral arrangements are closely related to other aspects of life, from religious beliefs to political convictions, from family relationships to class structure, from poverty to prosperity. The book adopts an interdisciplinary approach, analysing particularly the part played by Scottish law and architecture. Until recently, Scotland’s 28 crematoria have been the ‘invisible buildings’ of the twentieth century, absent from architectural histories. The book analyses the challenge this new building type provided for architects: a building with no architectural precedent, at once secular and religious, functional and symbolic. From archives previously unstudied and from primary and secondary legal materials, it traces the development of Scottish law on burial and cremation. It will be an invaluable aid to those wishing to know the historical background to the Burial and Cremation Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament.

Format: 234 x 156mm hbk ISBN: 9781906566791 Price: £30.00 Extent: 356pp Illustrations: b/w throughout, 32pp col plates November 2016

James Hunter June 2005

SEPTEMBER 2016

Set Adrift Upon the World The Sutherland Clearances They would be better dead, they said, than set adrift upon the world. But set adrift they were – thousands of them, their communities destroyed, their homes demolished and burned. Such were the Sutherland Clearances, an extraordinary episode involving the deliberate depopulation of much of a Scottish county during the early part of the 19th century.

James Hunter is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of the Highlands and Islands and was its first Director of the Centre for History. The author of eleven books about the Highlands and Islands, he has also been active in the public life of the area for many years.

In this book James Hunter tells the story of the Sutherland Clearances. His research took him to archives in Scotland, England and Canada, to the now deserted straths of Sutherland, to the frozen shores of Hudson Bay. The result is a gripping, moving, definitive account of a people’s struggle for survival in the face of tragedy and disaster which includes experiences which have not featured in any previous account.

Also available ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SORROW ISBN: 9781780271873 Price: £12.99 Paperback

Format: 198 x 129mm pbk ISBN: 9781780273549 Price: £14.99 Extent: 618pp Illustrations: 8pp col & b/w plate section September 2016

Also available THE MAKING OF THE CROFTING COMMUNITY ISBN: 9781841588537 Price: £14.99 Paperback

Ian Crofton

OCTOBER 2016

A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable This authoritative, entertaining and eminently browsable reference book, arranged in easily accessible A–Z format, is an absorbing and imaginative feast of Scottish lore, language, history and culture, from the mythical origins of the Scots in Scythia to the contemporary Scotland of the Holyrood parliament and Trainspotting.

Ian Crofton was born in Edinburgh and worked for Collins in Glasgow before moving to London, where he has been a freelance writer and editor for 25 years. Previous books include Walking the Border and Scottish History Without the Boring Bits.

Here Tartan Tories rub shoulders with Torry girls, the Misery from the Manse exchanges a nod with Stalin’s Granny, Thomas the Rhymer and the Wizard of Reay walk hand in hand with Bible John, and the reader is taken for a rollercoaster ride round Caledonia, from Furry Boots City to the Costa Clyde, via the Cold Shoulder of Scotland, the West Lothian Alps and the Reykjavik of the South. The result is a breathtaking and quirky celebration of Scotland, packed with fact and anecdote.

Also available WALKING THE BORDER ISBN: 9781780273082 Price: £9.99 Paperback

Format: 246 x 168mm pbk ISBN: 9781780274287 Price: £14.99 Extent: 528pp Illustrations: N/A October 2016

Also available SCOTTISH HISTORY WITHOUT THE BORING BITS ISBN: 9781780272658 Price: £12.99 Hardback

June 2005

‘Carrying Scottish publishing to ever 48greater heights.’ 48

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