Search results for ""Birlinn""

This notebook features a beautiful cover illustration by acclaimed nature artist Jane Smith. It contains 176 pages of lightly lined paper, head-and-tail bans, a ribbon marker and band to keep it securely fastened.

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It takes a lot to get under the skin of Cornelius 'Fatty O'Leary, but then there is a lot of skin to get under. The heroically proportioned Fatty can normally take life as it comes. Right at home in easy-going Fayetteville, Arkansas, he is happily married to his childhood sweetheart Betty, and likes nothing better than the company of good friends Tubby O'Rourke and Porky Flanagan. But when Fatty and Betty head off to Ireland on the trip of a lifetime, they find that they have left their comfort zone far behind. Calamity and mayhem ensue as one mishap after another befalls the beleaguered couple. Can Fatty's broad shoulders take the strain or will he suffer one indignity too many? Will he get his just deserts, or just dessert?

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Listed as one of the five worst international selections ever, and described in a book about Scottish rugby as 'a full back slower than your average prop', Ian Smith cheerfully won eight caps for Scotland in a career that saw him score every point for his team on his debut in an historic victory over South Africa (and in so doing became the first Scottish full back to score a Test try) and defeated a star-studded England team to lift the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield in the 1970 Five Nations. One of eight international full backs to have come out of Heriot's FP, Smith also played for a dashing, innovative Edinburgh University side that revolutionised attacking back play. But this book is so much more than a story of a fleeting Test career. It is a window to another time, when a player could appear, as Smith did, for his club's third XV and two weeks later make his international debut for his country. And then, eight Tests later, return to his club where he was only considered good enou

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A powerfully poignant tale of one of the most turbulent moments in Scotland's history: the North Berwick Witch Trials. IT’S THE 4TH OF DECEMBER 1591. On this, the last night of her life, in a prison cell several floors below Edinburgh’s High Street, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor – Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still persecuted for who they are and what they believe. As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, brutal torture, confession and trial, while Iris offers support, solace – and the tantalising prospect of escape. Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a king’s violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day. 'This series has already produced two works of note and distinction. It raises the question – if a country cannot re-tell its history, will it be stuck forever in aspic and condemned to be nothing more than a shortbread tin illustration? Hex and Rizzio are showing the way towards a reckoning, and about time too’ – Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday

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Charlie Gavin was abducted as a baby. He didn’t know who he was or where he came from. His mission was to find himself. And when he did, he decided to spend his life finding other lost souls by opening the Be Kindly Missing Persons Bureau. Martha Walters, his assistant, has had her fifteen minutes of almost fame and failed. Now, dealing with her guilt and pain, she lives with her mum and dotes on her young daughter. Charlie appears to be a man who is a loser and dreamer, but, hey, his office is near her house, she can lie in of a morning, take her kid to school and the work isn’t too heart-breaking. Or is it . . . ?

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Sandra Ireland was awarded a Carnegie-Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women's magazines. She is the author of Beneath the Skin (2016), Bone Deep (2018) and The Unmaking of Ellie Rook (2019). She lives in Carnoustie, Scotland.

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Later That Day contains new works of gratitude and elegy. At once lyrical and direct, these poems take place in Glasgow, Auckland, the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands, and above all amid the clear light and bare, fertile islands of Orkney. They look to come across the distance between writer and reader, between one person and another, as they register the magic and loss of living and loving.

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Stuart David is a musician, songwriter and novelist. He grew up in Alexandria, on the west coast of Scotland a town memorably described as looking like a town that's helping the police with their inquiries'. The character of Peacock Johnson is based on some of the people Stuart grew up amongst there. Stuart co-founded the band Belle and Sebastian (19962000) and went on to form Looper in 1998. His memoir, In the All-Night Café: A Memoir of Belle and Sebastian's Formative Year, was published by Abacus/Little, Brown in 2015 to much critical acclaim.

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Nick Perry spent his childhood in Dorset, out in the countryside daydreaming most of the time. He was educated at Parkstone Sea TrainingSchool before leaving for London where he worked for ATV Television. He travelled around Europe moving from job to job until he came intomoney. On impulse he bought a hill farm in North Wales, some experiences of which form the backdrop to Peaks and Troughs. He lives with hiswife Arabella in the Wiltshire countryside where he spends his time writing, walking and listening to classical music.

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Andrew Painting grew up in the south of England and studied English at King's College, London and Environmental Anthropology at Aberdeen University. He moved to Scotland to volunteer with the RSPB and since 2016 has been Assistant Ecologist at the Mar Lodge Estate.

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Trevor Royle examines Scotland's role in the Second World War from a wide range of perspectives. The country's geographical position gave it great strategic importance for importing war materiel and reinforcements, for conducting naval and aerial operations against the enemy and for training regular and specialist SOE and commando forces. Scotland also became a social melting pot with the arrival of Polish and eastern European refugees, whose presence added to the communal mix and assisted post-war reconstruction. In addition to the important military aspects - the exploits of the Army's renowned 15th Scottish and 51st Highland Divisions in Europe and North Africa and the role played by the RAF and the Royal Navy from Scottish bases - Scotland was also hugely important as an industrial power house and the nation's larder. The war also had a huge impact on politics, with national centralization achieved through the creation of the Scottish Office and the Scottish Grand Committee. With the emergence of the post-war Labour government and the welfare state,nationalism went into decline and the dominance of socialism, especially in the west, paved the way for the command politics which dominated Scotland for the rest of the century. Based on previously unseen archives in the Scottish Record Office, A Time of Tyrants is the first comprehensive history of the unique part played by Scotland and the Scots in the global war to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

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Alastair McIntoshis an independent writer, broadcaster, speaker and activist who is involved in a wide range of contemporary issues, from land reform, globalization and nonviolence to psychology, spirituality and ecology.

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Willy Slavin has spent his life championing the cause of the poor. Working as a priest for 50 years in the most deprived areas of Glasgow and Bangladesh and in hospitals and prisons, he is also known for his role in the late-2017 installation of the Homeless Jesus sculpture on a park bench in Glasgow.

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Peter Matheson is a theologian who has lectured in theology in the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. From 1965 and 1982 he was Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Ecclesiastical History at New College, Faculty of Divinity, Edinburgh University.Alastair Hulbert is a practical theologian and ecumenist, who worked for 20 years in Europe Paris, Geneva, and latterly in the European churches office in Brussels. He was Warden of Scottish Churches House, Dunblane (20032008).

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Twenty-three long years, 276 tortous months, 1,196 despairing weeks it''s a long time in the wilderness . . .After a string of household names failed to deliver, the Tartan Army''s foot soldiers finally found a leader who could turn their fortunes round. On his appointment in 2019, former Chelsea stalwart Steve Clarke faced an enormous challenge but under him nothing feels beyond Scotland''s grasp. With the experience of Euro 2020 under his belt and time spent moulding a team capable of going toe to toe with the world''s finest, Euro 2024 represents another major milestone.This book looks behind the scenes of Scotland''s remarkable rise and tells the story of the man who has led the revival and how he has transformed the squad. Former teammates and coaching colleagues lend their voices alongside an all-star cast of past and present Hampden favourites in a tale of triumph and hope.

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First published by the New York Public Library in 1946, Black’s The Surnames of Scotland has long established itself as one of the great classics of genealogy. Arranged alphabetically, each entry contains a concise history of the family in question (with many cross-references), making it an indispensable tool for those researching their own family history, as well as readers with a general interest in Scottish history. An informative introduction and glossary also provide much useful information.

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St Andrews is without doubt one of Scotland’s most historic and beautiful cities. Once the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, it played a prominent role in the nation’s political life until the seventeenth century. In addition, it is also home of the nation’s oldest university; and whilst claims that it is the birthplace of golf may remain controversial, there is no doubt it is regarded as world capital of the game today. This fascinating and comprehensive account of St Andrews traces its history from Pictish times to the present day. It is based not only on a huge amount of original research, but also on an intimate knowledge of the town which Raymond Lamont-Brown accumulated in over twenty years’ residence there. In addition to facts and figures, the book also introduces many of the people who have featured prominently in the story of St Andrews – from doughty residents such as Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair and Cardinal Archbishop David Beaton to illustrious visitors like Mary, Queen of Scots, John Knox and Samuel Johnson.

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One of the great classics of Scottish history, The Drove Roads of Scotland interweaves folklore, social comment and economic history in a fascinating account of Scotland’s droving trade and the routes by which cattle and sheep were brought from every corner of the land to markets in central Scotland. In pastoral Scotland, the breeding and movement of livestock were fundamental to the lives of the people. The story of the drove roads takes the reader on an engrossing tour of Scottish history, from the lawless cattle driving by reivers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the legitimate movement of stock which developed after the Union of the Crowns, by which time the large-scale movement of stock to established markets had become an important part of Scotland’s economy, and a vital aspect of commercial life in the Empire.

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This is the classic book on the ancient customs, crafts and techniques of the Scottish Highlands. The past is evoked with a fascinating blend of historical narrative and detail, with descriptions of the fireplaces and furniture, the creels and cas chroms which were a vital part of everyday life in the Highland communities, but which have now become strange in the modern world of machinery and technology. Highland Folk Ways vividly describes the many aspects and artefacts of our ancestors’ lives; the clothes, cooking utensils, weapons, food and the implements for fishing, farming and building are all meticulously depicted and placed in historical context. The book has over 70 illustrations, and is surely the definitive resource book for everyone who wants to rediscover the lifestyle of the clansmen and crofters.

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The Coddy was one of the most renowned storytellers and characters of the Western Isles at the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth and beyond, and was the inspiration for Compton MacKenzie’s Whisky Galore. His warmth and personality shine through these stories, which are a wonderful mix of myth, tradition and anecdote. This edition includes a large number of traditional tales told in the inimitable style of The Coddy, grouped in a number of themed sections: Tales of the Macneils of Barra and Other Lairds - The MacLeods of Dunvegan - The Laird of Boisdale - Stories of Olden Times - Ecclesiastical Traditions - Place-names - Tales of Treasure - Tales of Local Characters - Stories of the Politician - Stories of Sea Monsters - Fairies, Second Sight and Ghost Stories - Witchcraft. For any student of folklore, for anyone interested in the traditions and history of the islands, or for anyone who simply likes a tale well told, The Coddy is essential reading. This edition is enhanced with a plate section consisting of period photographs of the Western Isles and informative notes on The Coddy and his stories.

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Knoydart – the northern edge of the ‘Rough Bounds’ is one of the most evocative names in Scotland. This text offers a history of Knoydart from the earliest times to the present day. A remote and desolate peninsula, its name derives from Viking settlers who only reckoned it worth three ouncelands – compared to five for the island of Eigg. Its warlike but impoverished inhabitants caused endless problems for their neighbours during the 17th century before becoming notorious in the 18th century under the leadership of Coll of Barrisdale. His protection racket has bequeathed the word ‘blackmail’ to the English language and he was notorious across Scotland. For the Jacobites, as well, Knoydart was a fertile recruiting ground. In the 18th and 19th centuries the area suffered large scale emigration, partly as a result of the brutal clearances of 1853. A further long century of decline followed, during which sheep and then deer were preferred to people. In 1948 discontent swelled again and it became the scene of the famous land-raid by the ‘Seven men from Knoydart’. It has changed hands more often in the last 150 years than in the previous 700 years. The land continues to lie at the heart of the Knoydart problem and the book attempts to place events in their larger historical context.

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Sasha Abramskygrew up in London and now lives in Sacramento with dual UK-US citizenship. He is a freelance journalist, writer, public speaker and university lecturer at U.C. Davis. He has written thousands of articles and is the author of eight published books includingInside Obama's Brain (Penguin, 2009),The American Way of Poverty (Nation Books, 2013)andThe House of Twenty Thousand Books (Halban, 2014).

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This project of the European Ethnological Research Centre is planned in 13 volumes. Their overall aim is to examine the interlocking strands of history, language and traditional culture, in their international setting, that go into the making of a national identity. Other volumes cover Scottish ethnology; farming and landscape; Scotland's buildings; boats and fishing; coast and sea; the food and the Scots; hearth and home: the culture of the dwelling house; crafts, trades and professions; transport and communications; the individual and community life in Scotland; oral literature and performance culture; institutions of Scotland: religious expression; and institutions of Scotland: the law.

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Originally published in 2000 by Polygon to mark the 250th anniversary of Fergusson''s birth, this new edition contains all Fergusson''s finest poems in both Scots and English, and features a new introductory essay, revised orthography, a substantial section of notes and a glossary.Acknowledged as a crucial influence on Burns, Robert Fergusson was a remarkable poet in his own right. All his work was produced during a few brief years, delighting readers with its vigour and power. Although he wrote much verse in the then fashionable style of Augustan English, it is his Scots verse which, in its great warmth, humanity, satire, and hilarious comedy, is his enduring legacy.His work covers the whole gamut of human emotions and experience and his subject matter ranges from drunken encounters with the notorious City Guard to quieter reflections on pastoral themes. Fergusson died in 1774 at the age of only 24.

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''The Hollow Mountain is possibly the best yet'' - S.G. MacLeanThe Tunnel Tigers were an elite group of construction workers who specialised in a lucrative but hazardous profession blasting tunnels through mountains and under rivers, in dangerous conditions few men could endure.Alice Larkin, the headstrong daughter of a millionaire and former news reporter, claims her lover, a Tunnel Tiger, died in mysterious circumstances many years ago, and she wants journalist Rebecca Connolly to investigate.Intrigued, Rebecca throws herself into investigating the story, but she soon comes face to face with an old adversary. Family legacies and influential reputations are at stake and danger is shockingly close to home.

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When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, millions of lives changed in an instant.Millions of people were suddenly on the move. In this great flow of people was a reporter from the north of Scotland. Jen Stout left Moscow abruptly, ending up on a border post in southeast Romania, from where she began to cover the human cost of Russian aggression. Her first-hand, vivid reporting brought the war home to readers in Scotland as she reported from front lines and cities across Ukraine. Stories from the night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers: stories from the ground, from a writer with a deep sense of empathy, always seeking to understand the bigger picture, the big questions of identity, history, hopes and fears in this war in Europe.Night Train to Odesa begins in Russia and continues to focus on people, relationships and individuals in Ukraine. It is the account of a young female reporter with no institutional backup or security. Both in language and themes, it is acce

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Spring, 1523. Henry VIII readies England for war with France. The King’s chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey, prepares to open Parliament at Blackfriars. The eyes of the country turn towards London. But all is not well in Wolsey’s household. A visiting critic of the Cardinal is found brutally slain whilst awaiting an audience at Richmond Palace. He will not be the last to die. Anthony Blanke, trumpeter and groom, is once again called upon to unmask a murderer. Joining forces with Sir Thomas More, he is forced to confront the unpopularity of his master’s rule. As the bodies of the Cardinal’s enemies mount up around him, Anthony finds himself under suspicion. Journeying through the opulence of More’s home, the magnificence of Wolsey’s York Place, and the dank dungeons of London’s gaols, he must discover whether the murderer of the Cardinal’s critics is friend or foe. With time running out before Parliament sits, Anthony must clear his name and catch the killer before the King’s justice falls blindly upon him.

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Iona Lee’s debut collection charts the journey of the writer, artist and performer into adulthood. Written in a unique voice, Iona playfully toys with thematic devices in this entertaining exploration of art and artifice, absence and impermanence, truth and tale telling. Characterised by a deep love of language, its music and its magic, these poems reflect on memory, the future and other hauntings. Wittily observed, this collection is an attempt to connect the stars into tidy constellations, and to join the tiny, inchoate dots of self into something traceable and translatable. Humorous and self-aware, gentle and philosophical, Anamnesis is written in the knowledge that in telling one’s life-story, one creates it.

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'Beautifully written ... a unique tale told in a unique voice' - S.G. Maclean Summer, 1522. In a wave of pomp, Henry VIII’s court welcomes the Imperial emperor, Charles V. Anthony Blanke, the son of the king’s late ‘black trumpet’, John Blanke, is called to Hampton Court by his former employer, Cardinal Wolsey. The cardinal is preparing a gift for King Henry: a masque of King Arthur and the Black Knight. Anthony is to take centre stage. The festive mood, however, quickly sours. Wolsey’s historian, charged with proving the king’s descent from King Arthur, is found murdered, his body posed in a gruesome tableau. A reluctant Anthony is charged with investigating the affair. His mission takes him on the path trod by the historian, through ancient monastic libraries and the back streets of London. On a journey that takes him from Hampton Court to Windsor and Winchester, and which sees him lock horns with secretive monks, historian Polydore Vergil, and a new face at court, Anne Boleyn, he must discover the murderer, secure the great masque, and avoid King Henry’s wrath.

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This is an exclusive limited edition with a preface by Liz Lochhead and a new introduction by Ali Smith. Liz Lochhead is one of the leading poets writing in Britain today. This, her debut collection, published in 1972, was a landmark publication. Writing at a time when the landscape of Scottish poetry was male dominated, hers was a new voice, tackling subjects that resonated with readers – as it still does. Her poetry paved the way, and inspired, countless new voices including Ali Smith, Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay and Carol Ann Duffy. Still writing and performing today, fifty years on from her first book of poetry, Liz Lochhead has been awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and was Scotland’s second modern Makar, succeeding Edwin Morgan. Memo for Spring is accessible, vital and always as honest as it is hopeful. Driving through this collection are themes of pain, acceptance, loss and triumph.

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GANGLAND BOSS ZANDER FINN DISAPPEARED AFTER THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HIS SON. He fled to London, seeking salvation by walking away from his money, his career and his legacy. But when his old second-in-command Malky Maloney tracks him down, Finn knows he must return. Both his real family and his crime family face an existential threat from Albanian mobsters hellbent on taking control of the Scottish underworld and the forces of law and order determined to inflict their own retribution. Finn’s fight for survival is a rollercoaster ride of brutality, misplaced loyalties and the utterly unexpected. The road to redemption is perilous – and paved with blood.

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Fear is a state of mind . . . Something scared Nuala Flaherty to death . . . and when her body is found in the centre of a pentagram on a lonely moor, journalist Rebecca Connelly is determined to find the truth. Could she really have been killed by supernatural means, or is there a more realistic explanation? Rebecca's investigation leads her to a dangerous, shadowy cult and a vicious local drug ring. But she is unaware that gangster matriarch Mo Burke still seeks retribution for the death of her son. The crime boss has already failed to hurt Rebecca once before. This time, her vengeance could be lethal. 'A page turning novel in a fine series . . . going from strength to strength' – Scotland on Sunday

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'a tour de force work of art' – The Wall Street Journal, Best Books of the Year Longlisted for the 2022 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award It's Saturday evening, 9 March 1566, and Mary, Queen of Scots, is six months pregnant. She's hosting a supper party, secure in her private chambers. She doesn't know that her Palace is surrounded – that, right now, an army of men is creeping upstairs to her chamber. They're coming to murder David Rizzio, her friend and secretary, the handsome Italian man who is smiling across the table at her. Mary's husband, Lord Darnley, wants it done in front of her and he wants her to watch it done ... Denise Mina brilliantly portrays the sexual dynamics and politics of power – between men and women, monarch and subjects, master and servants. The period is masterfully researched yet lightly drawn, the characterisation quick, subtle and utterly convincing. This breathtakingly tense work is a tale of sex, secrets and lies, one that explores the lengths that men – and women – will go to in the search for love and power.

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Hailed by some as the most important Scottish poet since Burns, Hamish Henderson lived an epic life against the backdrop of some of the defining social, political and cultural battles – both national and international – of the twentieth century. A soldier, academic, folklorist, political activist, songwriter, translator and poet, he was a seminal figure in the Scottish folk revival and literary renaissance. His humanist legacy lives on in all of these spheres, but it is perhaps through his poetry that we may experience, most keenly, the ‘method in his magic.’ In every verse and lyric we catch glimpses of a brilliant, complex and highly original mind, whilst also developing a fuller understanding of Henderson’s lifelong mission to ‘make poetry become people.’ Published to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Hamish Henderson, this collected poems is the first since the poet’s death and makes available, for the first time, new material from the archive. The book opens with Freedom Becomes People, first published in Chapman 42, and reproduces, in full, his Ballads of World War II and Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica. This volume pushes at the boundaries between high modernist poetics and popular folk song; between the profound and profane; between works of individual and collective endeavour and between the poet and his purpose.

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When the body of a man in eighteenth-century Highland dress is discovered on the site of the Battle of Culloden, journalist Rebecca Connolly takes up the story for the Chronicle. Meanwhile, a film being made about the ’45 Rebellion has enraged the right-wing group Spirit of the Gael which is connected to a shadowy group called Black Dawn linked to death threats and fake anthrax deliveries to Downing Street and Holyrood. When a second body – this time in the Redcoat uniform of the government army – is found in Inverness, Rebecca finds herself drawn ever deeper into the mystery. Are the murders connected to politics, a local gang war or something else entirely?

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George Mackay Brown was a master of the short story form and produced a steady stream of short fiction collections, starting with A Calendar of Love (1967) and include A Time to Keep (1969) and Hawkfall (1974), as well as his poetry collections and novels. In this selection, edited and introduced by Malachy Tallack, we explore the author’s Orkney and the ups and downs of the crofters and fishermen there. These magical stories, drawn from ancient lore and modern life, strip life down to the essentials.

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Richard Hannay Returns.JULY, 1942. Once again veteran adventurer Richard Hannay is called into action on a mission that will test him as never before. At stake is the fate of the beleaguered island of Malta where Hannay's son is stationed as a fighter pilot. The German master spy Ravenstein has stumbled upon a centuries old secret which will give the Nazis the key to conquering Malta and so take control of the entire Mediterranean.To stop them, Hannay and his allies the Gorbals Diehards must track down the mysterious Karrie Adriatis, who alone knows the nature of the ancient secret. The quest takes them on a perilous journey from Gibraltar, to Casablanca, to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and finally on to Malta itself. Here Hannay and Ravenstein come face to face in a battle that will determine the future of the war.Before James Bond, before Indiana Jones, fiction's greatest action hero was Richard Hannay, who first appeared in John Buchan's classic thriller The Thirty- Nine Steps. R

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Annette Somerville, a young single mother, earns her living in a high-class Glasgow sauna parlour, scrupulously keeping her respectable home life separate from her professional activities. During a series of murders in the city, seemingly unconnected, Annette realises that all of the victims have been regular customers. What should Annette do? No one else seems interested, and her boss makes it clear that going to the police will cost Annette her job. But Annette’s new boyfriend, a former customer of the sauna, could be the murderer’s next victim. Can Annette continue to keep her two lives separate, or are they destined to violently clash?

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This stunning collection features never before published work along with poems written during her time as Scots Makar, and marks the end of her term as Scotland's Poet Laureate (2011-2016). Whether commissioned works, such as 'Connecting Cultures', written for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 or more personal works, 'Favourite Place', about holidays in the west coast with her late husband, this collection is beautiful, sensitive and brilliant. Throughout her career Liz Lochhead has been described variously as a poet, feminist-playwright, translator and broadcaster but has said that 'when somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. If I were a playwright, I'd like to be a poet in the theatre.'

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It's December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world's biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home - and his descendants have been cursed ever since. When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what?

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When the body of a young woman is washed up on an idyllic beach on the west coast of Scotland, D.C.I. Jim Daley is despatched from Glasgow to lead the investigation. Far from home, and his troubled marriage, it seems that Daley’s biggest obstacle will be managing the difficult local police chief; but when the prime suspect is gruesomely murdered, the inquiry begins to stall. As the body count rises, Daley uncovers a network of secrets and corruption in the closeknit community of Kinloch, thrusting him and his loved ones into the centre of a case more deadly than he had ever imagined. The first novel in the D.C.I. Daley series, Whisky from Small Glasses is a truly compelling crime novel, shot through with dark humour and menace.

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Recalled from active service on the Western Front, Richard Hannay is sent undercover on a secret mission to find a dangerous German agent at large in Britain. Disguised as a pacifist, Hannay travels from London to Glasgow to the Scottish Highlands and Islands in his search, which eventually ends in a spectacular climax above the battlefields of Europe. John Buchan’s inside knowledge of trench warfare and government intelligence lend a formidable realism to this superlative story. A nail-biting classic from a master storyteller. With an introduction by Hew Strachan. This edition is authorised by the John Buchan Society.

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Family is the one thing we all know about - whether family gives you strength, or breaks your heart, whether your idea of family stays steadfast through generations, or whether your family is a million miles away from kids or rosy-cheeked grannies. This book helps us think about and celebrate family moments and family members. The contents ranges from Robert Burns to Liz Lochhead, from happy babies to the death of a father. It is the fourth in the series of anthologies which provide words for important occasions ("Handfast", "Handsel" and "Lament", also published by Polygon and the Scottish Poetry Library).

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In 1925, John Buchan published his second most famous novel, John Macnab; three high-flying men – a barrister, a cabinet minister and a banker – are suffering from boredom. They concoct a plan to cure it. They inform three Scottish estates that they will poach from each two stags and a salmon in a given time. They sign collectively as ‘John Macnab’ and await the responses. This novel is a light interlude within the Leithen Stories series – an evocative look at the hunting, shooting and fishing lifestyle in Highland Scotland. With an introduction by Andrew Greig. This edition is authorised by the John Buchan Society.

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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.

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The Hebrides of Scotland - around 500 diverse islands - form the north-western Atlantic fringe of Europe. This book surveys the cultural landscape of this dramatically beautiful, complex and conflicted area, with emphasis on what may be interpreted through aerial photography. Its main themes are the mutual influences of people and environment, and the recent history and current issues in the area. Mobile maritime cultures flourished throughout the Hebrides from prehistoric times, including Mesolithic builders of wheelhouses, coracle-borne monastic travellers, Norse in longships and Lords of the Isles in birlinns. A prominent feature of the recent history of the Hebrides has been depopulation. The history and heartbreak of this phenomenon, experienced in differing degrees in rural areas throughout Europe from the mid-18th century, is clearly shown in aerial photographs and discussed in the accompanying text. Today's Hebridean landscapes have been heavily modified by various forms of human land use; current land-management options and controversies are also discussed in the context of photographs that draw attention to the various issues involved.

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