Birlinn

A Sky Full of Kites

A Rewilding Story Tom Bowser

$21.95 • Paperback • 240 pages 5.9x9.05 • 8pp color plates December 2021 • NAT043000 978-1-78-027650-2

Red kites were once Britain’s most common bird of prey. By the early 1900s they'd been wiped out in Scotland and England following centuries of ruthless persecution. When some reintroduced kites began roosting on their 1,400-acre farm at Argaty in Perthshire, Tom Bowser’s parents, Lynn and Niall, decided to turn their estate into a safe haven. They began feeding the birds and invited the world to come and see them, learn about them and fall in love with them. A Sky Full of Kites is the story of the Argaty Red Kite project, and the re-establishing of these magnificent raptors to Scotland, but it is also much more than that. Ill at ease with the traditional rural values of livestock farming, Lynn and Niall’s son Tom, who returned to work on the farm after a career in journalism, reveals his passion for nature and his desire to dedicate his family’s land to conservation.

A Scurry of Squirrels

Nurturing The Wild Polly Pullar

$21.95 • Paperback • 240 pages 6.1x9.2 • 8pp color plates December 2021 • NAT037000 978-1-78-027704-2

Polly Pullar has had a passion for red squirrels since childhood. As a wildlife rehabilitator, she knows the squirrel on a profoundly personal level and has hand-reared numerous litters of orphan kits, eventually returning them to the wild. In this book she shares her experiences and love for the squirrel and explores how our perceptions have changed. Heavily persecuted until the 1960s, it has since become one of the nation’s most adored mammals. But we are now racing against time to ensure its long-term survival in an ever-changing world. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Polly’s Perthshire farm, where she works continuously to encourage wildlife great and small, she highlights how nature can, and indeed will, recover if only we give it a chance. In just two decades, her efforts have brought spectacular results, and numerous squirrels and other animals visit her wild farm every day.

Newcastle upon Tyne

Mapping the City Michael Barke Brian Robson

$44.95 • Hardback • 272 pages • 9.7x9.85 color throughout • January 2022 • HIS015000 978-1-78-027726-4

Newcastle has a long and distinguished history through two millennia: a Roman fortress at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall; an important centre of monasticism; a 'royal' bulwark against attacks and invasion from Scotland; and the principal centre for the export of coal to London. In the 19th century it was transformed into an elegant Georgian townscape with dramatic streets and handsome public buildings. It and other towns on the Tyne - Gateshead, Jarrow, Wallsend, Tynemouth, North and South Shields - developed important industries: shipbuilding, glass and heavy engineering. Tyneside suffered severe contraction in the 20th century as heavy industry declined, but it has begun to reinvent itself and create new growth shoots, not least its vibrant cultural industries including music and art.

Argonauts of the Western Isles

Robin LloydJones

$14.95 • Paperback 256 pages • 5.1x7.8 June 2022 • TRV009070 • 978-1-78-027705-9

Robin Lloyd-Jones has been exploring the west coast of Scotland in his sea kayak for more than forty years. In this book he recalls many a memorable expedition to wild and beautiful shores. Amongst magnificent scenery and ever-changing seas, we are transported to Jura, Scarba, the Garvellach Isles, Mull, Staffa, the Treshnish Isles, the Monach Isles, Iona, Lewis and the Uists, Skye, the Orkneys, and the Shetland Isles. Along the way, he explains a great deal about kayaking, about the wildlife and history of the areas he visits. More than that, however, he makes us feel that we are with him in his kayak. This is a book to set the imagination adrift and appeal to the Robinson Crusoe in all of us.

The Scottish Nature Colouring Book

Eilidh Muldoon

$13.95 • Paperback • 48 pages • 9.8x9.8 b/w line drawings throughout • June 2022 GAM019000 • 978-1-78-027763-9

Featuring iconic animals from red deer, golden eagles and Highland cows to red squirrels, pine martens and salmon as well as the plants, trees and flowers which thrive in mountain, forest, moor and seashore, this book is the ideal way to explore Scotland’s amazing range of flora and fauna. Many of the illustrations show the animals and plants in their natural habitats, so you can appreciate the extraordinary beauty of Scotland’s landscapes too.

The Night Before Morning

Alistair Moffat

$13.95 • Paperback • 256 pages • 5.1x7.8 March 2022 • FIC040000 978-1-78-027737-0

June 1945. Hitler has triumphed, Britain is under German occupation and America cowers under the threat of nuclear attack. In the dead of night, a figure flits through the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey, searching for a hidden document he knows could change the course of history. The journal he discovers, by a young soldier, David Erskine, records an extraordinary story. Captor becomes captive and Erskine is held as a POW in his own land. As the brutal grip of the occupying forces tightens, he is determined to join the resistance. A daring escape leads him and his fiancée Katie on a breathless chase to the university town of St Andrews, where the Germans have established a secret research laboratory. When it becomes clear what its purpose is, David, Katie and their small, trusted band must adopt a desperate and audacious plan to thwart Nazi domination...

A Sword for Christ

The Republican Era in Great Britain and Ireland Jonathan Cobb

$44.95 • Hardback • 416 pages 6.3x9.45 • 8pp color plates October 2021 • HIS015040 978-1-78-027692-2

The fifteen-year period between 1645 and 1660 was one of the most dynamic in British history. Drawing on the latest research and established sources, as well as the works and diaries of contemporaries such as John Evelyn, Lucy Hutchinson and Samuel Pepys, A Sword for Christ offers a new and stimulating perspective on these extraordinary years. Key personalities such as Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Marquis of Argyll, Charles II and, of course, Oliver Cromwell himself – one of the most contentious figures in history – are re-appraised and brought vividly to life. In addition to exploring the religious and political debates which shaped the era and the military culture which defined it, the book also considers how society was profoundly affected by the upheaval caused by the civil wars; the relations between what was essentially an English republic and its Irish and Scottish neighbours; and the ethos of the New Model Army and the navy.

The Star Drive

The True story of a Genius, an Engine and Our Future Phillip Hills

$21.95 • Hardback • 256 pages • 5.5x8.85 16pp b/w plates • December 2021 HIS037060 • 978-1-78-027668-7

In May 2018 NASA called a press conference to announce the successful test-run of their tiny nuclear reactor KRUSTY (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology). This revolutionary technology, which runs on heat alone, may have profound consequences for the future of mankind, enabling us to maintain permanent bases on the Moon, on Mars and other planets, and eventually power a starship. On earth too it could have enormous benefits as a new way to generate power at a time when climate change is threatening our very existence. This book is the amazing story behind this invention, which began with Robert Stirling’s original designs for a heat exchange engine in 1816. An invention truly ahead of its time, the practical application of the Stirling Engine has taxed the minds of scientists and inventors for almost 200 years. Only now is it possible for its full potential to be realised. Phillip Hills weaves science and history together to tell the story of one of the most exciting scientific developments the world has ever seen.

Neville Chamberlain

The Passionate Radical Walter Reid

$39.95 • Hardback • 336 pages 6.3x9.45 • 8pp mono plates October 2021 • BIO011000 978-1-78-027674-8

Neville Chamberlain is remembered today as Hitler’s credulous dupe, the man who proclaimed in September 1938 that the Munich agreement guaranteed ‘peace in our time’. This is a magisterial reappraisal of Chamberlain and his legacy. It reveals the nuances of a complex and sensitive man who was a true radical and a man of passion, especially in all that concerned the welfare of his fellow citizens. As Minister of Health, Chancellor and Prime Minister, he presided over a fundamental modernization of Britain, shutting the door on the Victorian age, ending free trade, improving living conditions and abolishing the Poor Law and the workhouse. Munich was much more than the traditional narrative suggests. Scarred by the death of his cousin in World War I, Chamberlain was determined to ensure that a new generation was spared the tragic waste that had consumed their elders. Even so, he prepared for war while he worked for peace. The aircraft that won the Battle of Britain were built on his watch. He didn’t win World War II, but it was he who ensured it wasn’t lost in 1940.

A Taste of the Highlands

Ghillie Basan

$34.95 • Hardback • 208 pages 7.45x9.2 • December 2021 CKB011000 • 978-1-78-027742-4

On this culinary journey through the Highlands of Scotland, award-winning food writer Ghillie Basan meets a host of artisan food producers, farmers, crofters, fishermen and distillers. From the wild glens of the Cairngorms, the bountiful waters of the Moray Firth and the rolling farmland of the Black Isle to the sea lochs, moors and mountains of Sutherland and Argyll, she discovers a huge variety of local produce. Here she shares some of the best of it: lamb and grass-fed beef, wild venison, fresh salmon and juicy langoustines, seasonal fruits and berries, cheeses and charcuterie, butter and breads, as well as whisky, gin and beer – and much else besides. Featuring a hundred recipes gleaned along the way, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary, as well as the stories of the people she meets, this is a magnificent celebration of life and food in one of the world’s most beautiful places.

The Ninth Wave

Love and Food on the Isle of Mull Carla Lamont

$24.95 • Paperback • 192 pages 7.5x9.25 • color throughout Currently Available • CKB115000 978-1-78-027756-1

Owners of the Ninth Wave Restaurant on the Isle of Mull, Carla and John Lamont, have brought fine dining to one of the most beautiful islands in the Hebrides. Their cooking is based on seasonality - using the wonderful natural larder of fruit,vegetables, game and seafood at the times of year when they are available and at their best. Lobster, crab, hand-dived scallops and fish are often caught only hours before appearing on the dinner-plate. John, a fisherman himself, will not only catch crab and lobster on his own fishing boat, but will act as waiter and wine steward in the restaurant in the evening. Carla tells the story of how she came to set up the restaurant in a remote corner of Scotland and captures the zest and creativity of its menu in detailed and easy-to-follow recipes. This is a book to treasure and to turn to again and again.

Gin: The Ultimate Companion

The Essential Guide to Flavours, Brands, Cocktails, Tonics and More Ian Buxton

$21.95 • Paperback • 272 pages 5.3x7.7 • December 2021 • CKB006000 978-1-78-027753-0

The 21st century’s own Gin Craze continues unabated, with exciting new crafted gins launched on a regular basis. Most recently, we have seen growing interest in Pink Gins and the development of a range of flavoured gins, not to mention the remarkable rise of tonics – with a tonic to suit every palate, and perhaps every gin. So naturally, leading spirits writer Ian Buxton has looked to revise and renew his focus on this most fashionable of spirits. In this book he brings his customary wit, industry knowledge and highly developed palate to this fast-evolving and dynamic market with enthusiastic, book-buying drinkers keen for more ginsights!

The Founder's Tale

A Good Idea and a Glass of Malt Phillip Hills

$21.95 • Hardback • 256 pages 5.5x8.05 • Currently Available BIO026000 • 978-1-78-027628-1

This is the story of how one man, with a bit of help from his friends, created a revolution in the hitherto staid world of Scotch Whisky. But by creating the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, he gave whisky drinkers access to the finest distilled liquor on the planet – and what’s more, he had a great time doing it. The book is a collection of stories about Pip and his friends and how they brought Scotland’s finest product to a waiting world. It begins in a small farm in Aberdeenshire and moves through high places (The World Trade Center) and low (a jungle dive in the South Seas), with the help of the famous and the obscure, the good, the bad and the mildly delinquent. There are high mountains and wild seas, and a trip (with whisky) to Communist eastern Europe in a vintage Lagonda.