Latest Publications from The Islands Book Trust Spring 2013
Nov 08, 2014
Latest Publications from
The Islands Book Trust Spring 2013
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Defending St Kilda ~ Ron Morris E 3
Steamers to Stornoway ~ Ron Morris E 3
Atlantic Gaels ~ Aidan O’Hara E 3
The Carrying Stream Flows On ~ Bob Chambers (Ed) E 3
Alexander Macdonald– Bard of the Gaelic Enlightenment E 4
An t-Eilean—Taking a Line for a Walk through Skye G/E 4
Tiree—War among the Barley and Brine E 4
From the Low Tide of the Sea to the Highest Mountain Top ~
James Hunter E 5
History of Skye~ New edition ~ Alexander Nicolson E 5
Exploring the Isles of the West— Firth of Clyde ~ Marc Calhoun E 5
Exploring the Isles of the West— Skye and Tiree ~ Marc Calhoun E 5
Suas gu Deas~ Angus Peter Campbell & Cailean Maclean G/E 6
Oighreachd ar Sinnsearan ~ Dr Kenneth Robertson G/E 6
Dualchas Àraid agus Prìseil ~ Dr Kenneth Robertson G/E 6
Dolly Doctor ~ Dr Macdonald ~ intro Peter Cunningham E 6
Stroma ~ R Ritchie, A Murray and G Gunn E 7
Foula ~ Chris Mylne E 7
Mhòr and More - Hill Walks in Uist ~ M Margulies E 7
Return to Patagonia ~ Greta Mackenzie E 7
St Kilda Diary ~ Dr David Boddington E 8
From Cleits to Castles ~ Calum MacDonald E 8
Rewriting St Kilda ~ Various ~ Bob Chambers (Ed) E 8
Destination St. Kilda ~ Mark Butterworth E 8
An Isle called Hirte ~ Mary Harman E 9
St Kilda; Church, Visitors and ‘Natives’ ~ Michael Robson E 9
St Kilda-Myth & Reality ~J Randall, J Love, B Lawson E 9
St Kilda Snapshots ~ David Quine E 9
A Life of Song ~ Marjory Kennedy Fraser E 10
Còco is Crùbagan ~ Flora Macdonald G/E 10
Faith in a Crisis ~ Flora Johnston E 10
Island Conversion ~ Myles and Margaret Campbell E 10
Whaling and the Hebrides ~ Various E 11
The Life and Legacy of Alexander Carmichael ~ Various E 11
Island Emigrants Various E 11
Island Heroes ~ Various E 11
Memories of the Island of Scarp ~ Donald Macleod E 12
Greenland - the Rediscovered Island ~ Iain Brownlie Roy E 12
From Hirta to Port Phillip ~ Prof Eric Richards E 12
Steamships to St Kilda ~ Donald Meek E 12
A Window into Life on Mingulay ~ Ben Buxton and David Powell E 13
The Island Lighthouses of Scotland ~ John Love E 13
The French MacDonald ~ Jean Didier Hache E 13
Stornoway in World War 2 ~ Mike Hughes E 13
Decline and Fall of St Kilda ~ Various E 14
Early Christianity in Lewis - the Ness Connection ~ Various E 14
Calvinism, Literature and the Imagination ~ Prof Donald Macleod E 14
Iceland and the Hebrides - My Roots ~ Sally Magnusson E 14
Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles ~ Colin Scott Mackenzie E 15
Callanish—Monument, Moon and Mountain ~ Ian McHardy E 15
Game on Lewis and Harris ~ David S D Jones E 15
Speak to Us Catriona ~ Donald S Murray E 15
The Summer of '89 ~ Bob Charnley E 16
The Highland Clan MacNeacail ~ D Sellar & A Maclean E 16
Expeditions to the Hebrides ~ George Clayton Atkinson E 16
Travels in the Western Hebrides ~ Rev John L Buchanan E 16
Murdo Crola ~ Iain Smith and Murdo Maclennan E 17
Life on the Edge ~ Bob Chambers E 17
Aimhreit an Fhearainn ~ Various G/E 17
Obair Gun Duais ~ Tristan ap Rheinallt G/E 17
Paper Cairns ~ Laura Helyer E 18
South Lochs in the Leverhulme Era ~ Monique Watt E 18
Island Dwellings of North Uist ~ Robert Lenfert E 18
Gaelic on Signs and Maps in Scotland ~ Ruraidh MacIlleathan G/E 18
BOOK TITLES KEY BOOK TITLES KEY PAGE PAGE
Key = E - English, G - Gaelic, G/E - Gaelic and English, W— see website for details
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LATEST PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE THIS SPRING
THE CARRYING STREAM FLOWS ON
Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the
School of Scottish Studies
Bob Chambers (Ed.)
This volume contains contributions by outstand-
ing scholars from Scotland, Iceland, the USA,
and Ireland to an International conference held in
Shetland in 2011 to mark the 60th anniversary of
the School of Scottish Studies at the University
of Edinburgh. It includes assessments of the
roles played by great figures in the history of
Scotland’s 20th century cultural development
such as Hamish Henderson and Calum Iain
Maclean, who made pioneering contributions to
the School’s unique collections of song and folk-
lore – a treasure-house of sound recordings and
photographs from Shetland to the Borders, from
the Western Isles to Buchan.
ISBN 978-1-907443-40-4
Retail £12.00
ATLANTIC GAELS
Aidan O’Hara
Links between Donegal and the Hebrides
Aidan O’Hara is an award-winning writer
and broadcaster in both English and Gaelic.
He is a native of the Inishowen peninsula
in Co. Donegal from where Islay and the
Paps of Jura can be easily seen on a clear
day. As a small boy looking out to sea, he
was intrigued by the prospect of what
might lie in store in the land across the
waves. In this exciting and informative
booklet he explores the historic and
cultural links between Donegal and the
Hebrides, and while dealing briefly with
the obvious ties of language and music,
faith and folklore, he also uncovers little-
known facts that will surprise and amaze. It
is all part of this account of the common
heritage of our people whom Aidan calls
Atlantic Gaels.
ISBN 978-1-907443-49-7
Retail £6.00
STEAMERS TO STORNOWAY
Colin Tucker
Ships and Shipping Services to Lewis since
1750
Shipping services are an essential part of the
life of all islands and Lewis is no exception.
This history makes a valuable contribution to
the record of the life of Stornoway and Lewis,
as well as chronicling an important element of
maritime history. In the 17th century crossing
the Minch could be a difficult and hazardous
journey, when sailing ships might take several
days to complete the journey, in stark contrast
with the modern car-ferry which takes less
than three hours. In the 19th century the
introduction of steamships made journeys both
quicker and more reliable.
This lavishly illustrated book is a fascinating
record of the shipping services linking the
island of Lewis with the mainland of Scotland.
ISBN 978-1-907443-35-5
Retail £20.00
DEFENDING ST KILDA
Ron Morris
In this book, based on new research and with archive
photographs, Ron Morris tells the intriguing and little
known story of the role which St Kilda played in World
War 1, including the establishment of a wireless station
and Royal Navy base to monitor enemy movements in
the North Atlantic. In May 1918, a German U-boat
entered Village Bay and opened fire, following which a
gun was erected on St Kilda next to the Manse to
respond to future attacks – although this was never
used in anger.
A flavour of how the islanders responded to this
unexpected threat can be gained from the following
extract:
”Finlay MacQueen like some of the other islanders was
still under the impression the submarine was a friendly
craft and intended to row his little boat out to it for a
chat with the sailors and hoping to replenish his
dwindling stock of tobacco in the process. He grew
annoyed when the submarine failed to stop, but contin-
ued in its circle putting his intended visit out of reach”
ISBN 978-1-907443-41-1
Retail £15.00
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Alexander MacDonald,
Bard of the Gaelic Enlightenment
Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, Bàrd an t-Soillearachaidh
Ghàidhealaich
Camille Dressler and Dòmhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart (editors)
Modern poetry in Scottish Gaelic begins with the brilliant, contro-versial figure of Alexander MacDonald, better known as Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair. Alasdair belonged to the Clanranald heartland of Moidart in West Lochaber and his life followed the fortune of his clan at the time of the ‘45. A larger than life charac-ter, he was a heroic figure, inspirational and visionary in turn, his heartbeat in tune with the events of his time. Hailed as the most original and innovative poet of the 18th century, he brought new life and vitality to Gaelic poetry. Alasdair was at once an antiquari-an revivalist and formal innovator, a committed writer about the politics of his time and a literary craftsman, interested in the devel-opment of poetic form.
This book brings together papers from a series of conferences which took place at Glenfinnan, Strontian and Canna. Shedding light on various aspects of Alasdair’s rich life and work, the book will also enable the reader to explore the locations associated with him in West Lochaber through the eyes of one of the most fascinat-ing and complex characters in Scottish literature.
ISBN 978-1-907443-04-6
Retail £15.00
An t-Eilean - Taking a Line for a Walk through the Island of Skye
by Angus Peter Campbell with Photographs by Cailean Maclean
This is an account in words and pictures of a walk taken through Skye by the award-winning writer Angus Peter Campbell and his friend the photogra-pher Cailean Maclean. Both were brought up in South Uist, so the journey here extends well beyond Skye to their pre-electric upbringing in the Outer Hebrides: a beautifully written and photographed memoir of people, places and times.
Tha iomadach seud taisgte anns an leabhar bhri-athran is dhealbhan seo. Chan e a-mhàin cunntas air cuairt tron Eilean Sgitheanach, ach cuim-hneachain air daoine, àiteachan agus amannan. Am measg nan ulaidhean a gheibh sibh an seo tha briathrachas mu àiteachan a dh’fhàg Dòmhnall Angaidh MacIlleathain nach maireann aig Aonghas Phàdraig, a-bharrachd air deagh iomradh air faclan a thog KC Craig ann an Uibhist-a-Deas
ISBN 978-1-907443-39-8
Retail £20.00
Tiree - War among the Barley and Brine*
Mike Hughes and John Holliday
Tiree’s inhabitants had fought to master the seas for centuries. Tiree’s soil had nourished a large population, along with other islands. In World War Two Tiree was required to offer sustenance and shelter to arrivals from a multitude of cities and states.
In the early 1940s, as country after country fell to Hitlerism, Tiree became a sentinel for the Clyde and other vital, west coast sea ports. Convoys crammed with servicemen and women and crucial supplies skirted close by, while U boats lurked just out of view. The military commandeered chunks of almost every Hebridean island – if invasion came, would there be fighting on the machair?
Was there more than stubborn, enduring or endearing stoicism linking Tiree and Winston Churchill in wartime? Was there something more than loyalty connecting the island with the Royal family at this time? How might Tiree offer rescue to those in peril on the seas, in time of war? What was it about the weather; the turbulent, sometimes chaotic weather patterns of Tiree’s Atlantic shroud, which educated and informed the planners of Allied victory? The authors have sought to capture here some memories of this momentous time, while memories still prevail, just; recollections of youth; RAF, Royal Navy and islander alike
ISBN 978-1-907443-38-1
Retail £15.00
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HISTORY OF SKYE
A New Edition of the Classic Book
by Alexander Nicolson edited by Cailean Maclean
Following the appearance of the first edition in 1930, the small print run sold out immedi-ately, leaving those lucky enough to possess a copy, with and eagerly sought after an invaluable source of knowledge on the Isle of Skye. A second, equally popular, edition was published in 1994 and now a third edition of this enduring work has been prepared, edited by Cailean Maclean, to include references, bibliographical sources and appendices, full translation of Gaelic texts and numerous illustration.
ISBN 978-1-907443-14-5
Retail £25.00
EXPLORING THE ISLES OF THE WEST
Skye and Tiree to the Outer Isles
Firth of Clyde to the Small Isles
Marc Calhoun
Marc Calhoun lives in Seattle in the Western United States, fully 5000 miles away from the Hebrides and Exploring the Isles of the West is a compilation of years of exploring the islands, recounting not only the physical journeys but his own journey from tourist to serious explorer dedicated to seeing and learning as much as possible about the islands. Marc shares with the reader how to experience the islands—by learning the landscape, by learning the history, and ultimately by learning to love a group of islands that are truly unique.
Skye and Tiree to the Outer Isles
This book describes visits to islands from Skye to St Kilda, the Flannans, and North Rona.
ISBN: 978-1-907443-31-2
Retail £9.99
Firth of Clyde to the Small Isles
This book describes visits to islands from Ailsa Craig to Jura, Mull, and the Small Isles.
ISBN: 978-1-907443-30-5
Retail £9.99
FROM THE LOW TIDE OF THE SEA TO THE HIGHEST
MOUNTAIN TOP Community Ownership of Land
in the Highlands and Islands
James Hunter
with photographs by Cailean Maclean
In recent years, communities in the Scottish Highlands and Islands have taken ownership of more than half a million acres. In places long characterised by contracting economies and shrinking populations, this remarkable devel-opment has resulted in new homes, new busi-nesses, greatly enhanced self confidence
and the attraction of lots of new residents.
ISBN 978-1-907443-28-2
Retail £15.00
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Dualchas àraid agus prìseil
A UNIQUE AND PRECIOUS CULTURE
The Changing Face of South Uist
and Eriskay
Photographs by Dr Kenneth Robertson
This unique book features a selection of the
best photographs of the late Dr Kenneth
Robertson, mostly previously unpublished
and taken over a period from 1956 to 1981.
A first class photographer, Dr Robertson was
very aware of his good fortune to be in a
position to record the life of the islands at a
time when they were on the cusp of great
and irrevocable change. His studies of the
everyday world of crofting, fishing and
home life tell a much deeper story of hard-
ship and joy, most of which is now but a
memory.
215 x 250 mm | 120pp | 100 b & w pictures |
hardback
ISBN 978-0-9560764-4-1
Retail price £20.00
SUAS GU DEAS
Two Hebrideans walking from the Butt to
Barra Head
Angus Peter Campbell
and Cailean Maclean An entertaining and incisive account in Gaelic
and English by prize-winning author Angus
Peter Campbell of a walk with a difference –
from the Butt of Lewis to Mingulay with friend
and leading photographer Cailean Maclean.
Along the way, Angus Peter and Cailean meet
Hebridean characters and visit old haunts in a
unique and unforgettable landscape. Already
televised, this is the book of the walk, a
celebration of contemporary Hebridean life in
all its variety and paradoxes, lit up by
Cailean’s superb photographs with literary
captions, and Angus Peter’s wit and insights.
This beautiful book is a tribute to the
remarkable and distinctive nature of island life,
its history, literature, landscape, and many
outstanding characters.
215 x 250 mm | 94pp | 66 colour pictures |
hardback
ISBN 978-0-9560764-3-4
Retail price £20.00
OIGHREACHD AR SINNSEARAN
Catching the Spirit of South Uist
and Eriskay
Dr Kenneth Robertson
Aware that he was living in the islands at a time of transition between the old tradition-al ways and the modern lifestyle, the late Dr Kenneth Robertson, a medical practi-tioner in South Uist and Eriskay and a skilled amateur photographer, sought to record those years from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. Contained in this beautiful book, is a selection of his black and white photographs, all carefully re-searched to identify those who appear in the images, giving both their Gaelic patronyms and English names where possi-ble.
ISBN: 978-1-907443-17-6
Retail £20.00
DOLLY DOCTOR
Pictures of Bygone Island
Dr MacDonald of Gisla (Dolly Doctor)
Introduced by Peter Cunningham
A beautifully produced selection from ‘Dolly Doctor’s unique collection of early plate-glass black and white slides, mainly taken in the 1930s, of life in Lewis and other islands in the Outer Hebrides, published here for the first time. The slides are particularly strong in their coverage of rural life such as fishing, the shielings, spinning, dying and weaving, going to the peats, crofting families and black-houses. Each picture has a full caption, and there is also an introduction about Dr Macdonald by well-known author Peter Cunningham, who knew ‘Dolly Doctor’ well, and has given many extremely popular slide-shows of ‘Dolly Doctor’s pictures over the years.
215x140mm 120pp, including 100 illustra-tions.
ISBN : 978-0-9560764-1-0
Retail price £12.00
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STROMA
The Island in the Stream
Roddy Ritchie, Alistair Murray and George Gunn
It was as if we were the last men on earth, desolate, aware now of our own future. Will this be what it’s like if we continue to ravish our planet? The consideration made personal as we drove past neat gardens all abandoned with their delicate slate slabs still edging the paths. We halted in a gap between these old homes. A community had lived here buffeted by storms. Why had they left? Where had they gone? Their empty houses stand in silent witness to the busy traffic of a major shipping lane while Stroma, deserted, sits astride a tidal energy source second to none.
At the end of our first visit we knew there was a hidden and fascinating story to tell. Stroma is a microcosm of humanity’s fleeting struggle with the planet and still has huge relevance for how we forge our energy future and our relationship with the environment; a small island, a big story.
215 x 250 | 72 pp | 71 images — Hardback
ISBN 978-1-907443-13-8
Retail price £20.00
FOULA
THE TIME OF MY LIFE
By Chris Mylne
Young and inexperienced, Chris Mylne arrived on the Shetland island of Foula in April 1954 to take up the posts of Schoolmaster and Lay Missionary. This remarkable book tells in his own words the dramatic story of Chris’s formative time as part of this remote and unique island community which took him to their heart. It is a valuable record of island social and economic life during an era which has now passed into history, the challenges posed by extreme weather and unreliable transport links, and the colour and vibrancy of a beautiful natural environment, full of birds, flowers and wildlife. It was indeed ‘the time of his life’. In later years, Chris became well-known as an outstanding wildlife photographer and film-maker. The book is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of a large number of Chris’s own contemporary photographs of Foula’s human and natural history.
230 x 290 | 218 pp | 61 colour, 29 b&w photos, 5 illustrations — Hardback
ISBN 978-1-907443-15-2
Retail price £20.00
RETURN TO PATAGONIA
Greta Mackenzie
For all those who bought Greta Mackenzie’s previous best-seller ‘Why Patagonia?’, origi-nally published in 1995, and long out of print, there is a treat in store for Greta has written an updated and much expanded version of her famous book, with lots more photo-graphs, many in colour, and accounts of her further visits to Argentina and Chile in 1996 and 2002, to trace the many family links between Lewis and Patagonia first estab-lished a century ago.
It is the human side of the story, as Greta discovers long-lost relatives, and the descend-ants of emigrants from Lewis villages, as well as her own Achmore, which will most appeal to islanders today. This is truly living history, and a story which will have a per-sonal resonance with many people.
210x 150mm | 250pp including 130 colour and b & w photos
ISBN : 978-1-907443-11-4
Retail price £14.99
MHÒR AND MORE
Hill Walks in Uist
Martin Margulies
American Martin Margulies first visited South Uist in October 1987, drawn there by its remoteness and its Gaelic culture. On the final afternoon of the visit, he climbed halfway up its largest hill (Beinn Mhor, which lends its name to the title), and was "hooked." Now, a quarter century later, he has climbed not only that hill - multiple times but just about every other hill on the archipelago, and explored footpaths and distant glens as well.
This book, a collection of the articles, aims at introducing visitors to the hidden beauties of those hills, footpaths and glens. It also contains tips on how to get to them and - just as importantly - how to get safely back.
196 x 129 | 160 pp | 39 colour images 1 map
ISBN 978-1-907443-12-1
Retail Price £11.99
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DESTINATION ST KILDA
From Oban to Skye and the Outer
Hebrides.
Includes 67 rarely seen original Magic Lan-
tern hand coloured glass slides from the
1880s depicting scenes from Oban to St
Kilda
In 1885 Aberdeen photographers George
Washington Wilson and Norman Macleod
set out to travel through the Western Isles to
St Kilda. They took many photographs along
the way and their collection of pictures,
‘From Oban to Skye and the Outer Hebrides’
was shown in magic lantern lectures through-
out Scotland.
The images and text in this book come from
this double set of lantern slides which was
produced in the late 1880s. These contempo-
rary hand coloured slides are rarely seen and
present a new light on life in the Western Isles,
produced fifty years before colour photography
came to Scotland.
295 x 210mm | 80pp including 67 colour and
b & w illustrations
ISBN : 978-1-907443-03-9
Retail price £19.99
ST KILDA DIARY
A Record of the Early Re-occupation of
St Kilda
Dr David Boddington
Captain David Boddington, RAMC, was Medi-
cal Officer on St Kilda from 1958, when the
Army first took over the base as a function-
ing unit of the Royal Artillery Guided Weapons
Range on the remote island group. He was
simultaneously Rations Officer, Meteorological
Officer, Postmaster and Barber! And he had a
passion for ornithology and natural history,
doubling up as warden for the Nature Conservancy
and representative of the National Trust for
Scotland. During his first year on St Kilda,
David kept a diary of his multi-dimensional
day to day activities as the base became
established. This book publishes extracts
from his diary for the first time – a compelling first-
hand account of life lived to the full at a
momentous time in the post-evacuation
history of St Kilda.
198x 129mm | 212pp including 14 b & w
photos
ISBN : 978-0-9560764-5-8
Retail price £9.99
FROM CLEITS TO CASTLES
A St Kildan Looks Back:
The Autobiography of Calum MacDon-
ald
There is a vast canon on the subject of St.
Kilda, however the authentic voices of those
who were native to the archipelago remain silent.
This book, however, promises to redress the
balance. This is the story of Calum MacDonald,
who was born on St. Kilda, and lived there
until he was sixteen, when he left for the
bright lights of Harris. He tells the story of a
hard life scratching a living from the inhospitable
land, but there is another story too; one of
closeness, kindness, spirituality and humour,
‘All my life I have been very fortunate be-
cause I was born among a small community
of Christian belief, who lived and shared
their lives as a whole, not as a unit. Our
closeness was partly due to kinship and
isolation from the outside world.’
198x 129mm | 136pp including 35 b & w
photos and illustrations
ISBN : 978-0-9560764-6-5
Retail price £9.99
REWRITING ST KILDA
New Views on Old Ideas
Edited by Bob Chambers
The world-wide fascination with the deserted
islands of St Kilda shows no sign of waning, and
we all share certain conventional assumptions
about and stereotypical images of the islands.
It is a remarkable fact that of the over 700 books
and articles written about St Kilda – on which our
images overwhelmingly are based – almost all
were written by visitors to the islands, often on
the basis of pre-conceptions and very little first
hand knowledge. It is not surprising therefore that
many myths have developed, and been repeated.
The voice of the Gaelic speaking native people
has been largely lost or overlooked.
In August 2010 the Islands Book Trust held a
major conference in Benbecula to look behind the
myths and re-examine some of the conventional
wisdom; the fascinating results are published here
in this book.
ISBN: 978-1-907443-23-7
Retail price £9.99
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ST KILDA
Church, Visitors and ‘Natives’
by Michael Robson
A remarkable and dispassionate new study,
based on hitherto unused records this new
book is essential reading for all those who,
like so many in the past, have fallen under
the spell of St Kilda and its now lost
community. Michael Robson examines the
role of the church over the centuries, and the
impact of other outside influences such as
tourists and journalists.
240x160 mm 756 pp b/w photos
Original retail price £35.00
ISBN 97809546238-4-5
Reduced retail price £20.00
AN ISLE CALLED HIRTE
A History and Culture of St Kilda to
1930
by Mary Harman
A classic and vivid overview of the history
and culture of St Kilda up to the time of the
evacuation in 1930. Includes detailed treat-
ment of the population and families, their
homes, shielings, bothies and storehouses,
domestic life, pastoral and arable farming,
fowling and fishing, customs and beliefs,
stories and songs, religion, education and
health, and communications. Hardback, in-
cluding many diagrams and illustrations.
240x162mm |352pp | 32pp b/w plates
Original retail price £35.00
ISBN 978 1 899272 03 7
Reduced retail price £20.00
ST KILDA
Myth and Reality
This publication is based on the contribu-
tions made under this heading at one of the
sessions at ‘Faclan’, the first Hebridean
Book Festival, held in Stornoway in August
2006.
It brings together the three main talks by:
John Randall, Bill Lawson, and John
Love—together with some notes written for
the occasion by Michael Robson, based on
his book ‘St Kilda -Church, Visitors, and
‘Natives’’. It explores the concept of myth,
and shows that our image of St Kilda today
inevitably reflects previous writings, most of
which was by outsiders who in many cases
spent very little time on the island, but merely
repeated what previous writers had said.
The book contains a number of new pictures
of St Kilda not previously published.
210x145mm | 31pp| colour plates
ISBN 978-0-9546238-9-0
Retail price £5.00
ST KILDA SNAPSHOTS
Based on Lachlan Macdonald's Collection
David Quine
This lavishly illustrated book by David Quine,
who has written several acclaimed accounts of
St Kilda, contains many rare photos taken by
the late Lachlan MacDonald of life on St
Kilda, the last inhabitants of that remote
archipelago, and the St Kildans after the
evacuation.
Lachlan was born on St Kilda in 1906, left at
the time of the evacuation in 1930, and died
in 1991. David met him for the first time in
1977 when a valued friendship immediately
developed with Lachlan and his wife Nancy.
That relationship led to this beautiful book, an
evocative and very personal tribute to an
island community and a way of life which is
now over.
215 x 250 | 80 pp | 75 images—Hardback
ISBN 978-1-907443-21-3
Retail £9.99
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ISLAND CONVERSION
The Transition of a Gaelic Poet
from Sceptic to Believer
By Myles and Margaret Campbell
Religion, and a belief in supernatural forces more generally, have played and still play a fundamentally important part in the culture of the Hebrides. Indeed, many would say that this is one of the dimensions which make island life and history distinctive.
The story told by Myles and Margaret Campbell in this book is inextricably linked to their island upbringing and cultural background. It is a very personal story, and one which honestly seeks to understand and interpret the events they have experienced. Myles Campbell is one of Scotland's leading Gaelic poets, and the text is supplemented by many of his beautiful poems, in Gaelic and English.
ISBN 978-1-907443-25-1
Retail £12.00
A LIFE OF SONG
The Autobiography of
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser travelled the world in the second half of the 19th century with her father, the famous Scots singer David Kennedy, and then as an outstanding musician in her own right. She was also one of the most important collectors and popularisers of Gaelic song at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from islands such as Barra and Eriskay. Her arrangements of these traditional songs, undertaken with the Rev. Kenneth MacLeod, were however criti-cised for departing from the authentic settings of the songs. A re-assessment is long overdue, and this new edition of her remarkable autobiography, first published in 1929, includes additional illustrations and a substantial re-evaluation of her contribution to the recording and preservation of Gaelic song by Dr Per Ahlander, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh.
ISBN 978-1-907443-19-0
Retail £14.99
FAITH IN A CRISIS
Famine, Eviction and the Church in North and South Uist
Flora Johnston
This intriguing book examines the role of the Church in dealing with and responding to the challenges of the mid-19th century in the islands of North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist. It covers the famine, ongoing emigration, the Disruption, and the high profile evictions from Lochboisdale and Sollas. The religious dimension is particularly interesting in these interlinked islands, where the Church of Scotland, the Free Church and the Roman Catholic Church existed side by side.
ISBN: 978-1-907443-32-9
Retail £9.99
Còco is Crùbagan
COCOA AND CRABS
A Hebridean Childhood
Flora MacDonald grew up in the 1940s and
50s at Meanish, one of a number of crofts
established in the 1920s at a time of acute land
shortage in the Western Isles. The house she
lived in, was built by her grandfather, all the
materials being brought in by boat. The school
she attended was also established after a long
campaign by her father. But Flora at the time
was blissfully unaware of the extraordinary
circumstances and hardships which her family
shared.
As Flora writes, ‘the date 1928 is carved by hand
above the door of the ruin in which I was born and brought up. This is the only reminder that my
pioneering family existed. My book is a modest and
humble tribute to my parents who provided me with
an idyllic and unique childhood.’
Please note that the text is bi-lingual and the
audio CD’s in Gaelic
215 x 140mm |112pp, including 13 colour
and b & w photos and maps
ISBN : 978-0-9560764-0-3
Retail price £15.00
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ISLAND HEROES
The Military History of the Western Isles
Almost every township throughout the Islands
has its war memorial inscribed with scores of
names, but how much do we really know about
the role of the Hebrides and her people in war-
time?
In August 2008, The Islands Book Trust held a
three-day conference to address exactly this
question. ‘Island Heroes – The Hebrides and UK
Military History’ took place on the Isle of Lewis,
where a range of excellent speakers discussed the
disproportionate contribution and sacrifice made
by islanders to UK military campaigns over at
least the last 250 years and the role of the
Hebrides during World War Two.
This book brings together the various
contributions - looking at warfare from a uniquely
island perspective
215 x 140mm|205pp| including 24 colour and
b & w illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-9560764-2-7
Retail price £15.00
THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ALEXAN-
DER CARMICHAEL
A ground-breaking collection of essays celebrating
the life and legacy of one of the most fascinating
and controversial Scots of his time, the folklorist
Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912). Carmichael
devoted his adult life to collecting the extraordinarily
rich oral tradition of the people of his native
Highlands, above all in the Outer Hebrides where
he spent nearly twenty years. Much of this material
was edited and published in the six volumes of
Carmina Gadelica (1900-71), a magnificent treasure
trove of Gaelic charms, hymns, poems, songs, and
stories which has captivated and intrigued readers
world-wide ever since.
The Life and Legacy of Alexander Carmichael
presents the fruits of a four-day conference held in
the island of Benbecula in July 2006 under the
auspices of The Islands Book Trust. Bringing
together contributions from academic and local
Hebridean scholars alike.
240 x 170mm with 193 pp b & w photos and
illustrations
ISBN 978-0-9555420-0-8
Retail price £15.00
ISLAND EMIGRANTS
The History of Emigration from the Hebri-des over the centuries
In the summer of 2009, to mark Scotland’s Year of Homecoming, The Islands Book Trust held a conference entitled ‘Island Emigrants’ to explore the remarkable story of emigration from the islands to places such as Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Patagonia. The aim was to bring together outstanding speakers, local people, visitors to the islands, and descendants of families who left the Outer Hebrides over the last 250 years.
The conference also looked forward, inspiring a passionate debate on the image of Gaeldom itself and how young people see themselves in the modern world. The various contributions to the conference are collected here in this fascinating volume, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in the story of emigration.
198x 129mm | 187pp including maps and 8 b & w and 14 colour photos and illustrations
ISBN : 978-1-907443-02-2
Retail price £9.99
WHALING AND THE HEBRIDES
Whaling played a part in the subsistence economy
of the Outer Hebrides for many centuries and
has left a strong cultural legacy. In Aug 2007,
The Islands Book Trust held a three day conference
in Tarbert, Harris, entitled ‘Whaling and the
Hebrides’, with the aim of exploring both
whaling in and around the Hebrides and the
experiences of Hebrideans who worked in the
whaling industry in the South Atlantic in the 20th
century. This event brought together people from
different backgrounds – geographically (from
Norway and the Faroes as well as various parts
of the Hebrides and Scottish mainland), and
occupationally (from academic and scientific
experts to those with practical experience of whaling
in the South Atlantic).
This volume brings together the various
contributions, providing stimulating reading for
anyone with an interest in the history of this
forgotten industry.
215 x 140mm | 170 pp | 32 pictures, colour and
b & w
ISBN 978-0-9555420-4-6
Retail price £12.00
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GREENLAND
The Rediscovered Island
Iain Brownlie Roy
In this magnificently illustrated booklet, Iain
Roy, an outstanding photographer and
frequent visitor to Greenland, outlines the
dramatic human and natural history of the
world’s largest island, a place of beauty and
challenge under the growing pressures of the
modern world.
210 x 140mm |39pp | 22 Colour photos
ISBN 978-1-907443-07-7 Booklet
Retail price £7.50
MEMORIES OF THE ISLAND OF
SCARP
Donald John Macleod
In this well-illustrated booklet, Donald John
Macleod brings together his own personal
memories of life on the island, together with
a series of anecdotes and contributions
which vividly illustrate what it was like to
be a resident of Scarp during the last century.
It will be of absorbing interest to all who
have visited this now depopulated island, or
have gazed wistfully across the narrow
sound of water near Husinish, Harris, to the
clearly visible buildings on a green strip of
land which once formed a living community.
219 x 140mm | 32pp | 9 colour & 9 b & w
images plus colour map
ISBN : 978-0-9560764-8-9 Booklet
Retail Price £6.00
STEAMSHIPS TO ST KILDA
John McCallum, Martin Orme, and the
Life and Death of an Island Community
Donald Meek
Donald Meek, who has recently retired from
his Professorship at Edinburgh University,
is best known for his Gaelic scholarship. But
another passionate interest, nurtured from his
boyhood days in Tiree, is Hebridean sea
transport and particularly the steamships
which have played such an important part in
shaping island life. In this booklet, published
to mark the 80th anniversary of the evacua-
tion, Donald looks at the wonderful steam-
ships which served St Kilda for over a centu-
ry, particularly the well-loved SS Dunara
Castle and SS Hebrides. His research has
uncovered important new material relating to
the seminal role played by McCallum, Orme
and Company Ltd, including the first ever
published photographs of Captain John
McCallum.
210 x 140mm | 40pp | 20 colour and b & w
photos
ISBN 978-1-907443-09-1 Booklet
Retail Price £7.50
FROM HIRTA TO PORT PHILLIP
Eric Richards
The story of the ill-fated emigration from St
Kilda to Australia in 1852
While the emotions and economic realities
surrounding the evacuation of St Kilda in
1930 are well-known and still hotly debated,
less is known of an equally traumatic earlier
event in the history of the islands – the
emigration of 36 islanders to Australia in
1852. Fewer than half of the St Kildans who
set sail from Birkenhead in the ‘Priscilla’
survived the journey and its immediate after-
math. In this well-researched and beautifully
illustrated booklet, Eric Richards, Professor
of History at Flinders University, Adelaide,
Australia, and an expert on the Highland
Clearances and emigration, looks at the
intriguing background, story, and conse-
quences of this ill-fated venture.
210 x 140mm | 35pp | 2 colour & 8 b & w
images plus 2 maps
ISBN 978-1-907443-05-3 Booklet
Retail price £7.50
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THE FRENCH MACDONALD
Journey of a Marshal of Napoleon in
the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
This extraordinary book provides a unique
footnote to the momentous events of Jacobite
and Napoleonic history. In 1746 Neil
MacEachen left his native South Uist for the
last time - in the company of Prince Charles
Edward Stuart and hunted by Hanoverian
forces on land and sea. Three-quarters of a
century later Neil's son, Marshal Alexandre
MacDonald, Marshal of France, created
Duke of Tarentum by Napoleon, and High
Chancellor of the Order of the Legion d'Honneur,
returns to Scotland and the islands of his
ancestors and is feted as a hero by the British
establishment. Throughout his trip in 1825,
Marshal Alexandre MacDonald kept a diary.
This fascinating document was found recently
in the French National Archives and translated
from the original French.
215x140mm | 209pp | 19 illustrations
ISBN 978-1-907443-01-5
Retail price £12.00
STORNOWAY IN WORLD WAR 2
Mike Hughes and John Davenport
Published in early August to coincide with
our Island Heroes conference. Stornoway
played an important and under-rated role
both at sea and in the air in the winning of
the Battle of the Atlantic and the Second
World War. In this lavishly illustrated book-
let, containing many pictures not previously
published, Mike Hughes describes the
achievements and tragedies of those
dramatic years, drawing on the personal
memories of heroes like John Davenport
DFC, who like hundreds of others found
himself stationed in Lewis, at the most north
-westerly edge of Europe. A testament to the
bravery of those involved, this is not to be
missed.
115x210mm | 66 pp.| 29 black and white
photos and images.
ISBN 978-0-9555420-6-0
Retail price £6.00
THE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSES OF SCOTLAND
John A Love
John Love is a biologist, author and illustrator from
Inverness who has now been living in South Uist
for twenty years. He has been fascinated by islands
and their lighthouses ever since first visiting the
Bass Rock some fifty years ago. Cruising round
Britain as a lecturer since his retirement four years
ago he has been able to add to his already extensive
list of island lighthouses visited and photographed.
This book is based on a lecture John gave to the
Islands Book Trust in February 2011 on the 200th
anniversary of the first lighting of the Bell Rock
lighthouse.
ISBN 978-1-907443-26-8 Retail £10.00
A WINDOW INTO LIFE
ON MINGULAY
Extracts from the School Log Book 1875-1910
Contributions by Ben Buxton and David Powell
Edited by Bob and Shirley Chambers
Published to mark the centenary of the abandonment of
Mingulay as a place of permanent human settlement, this
illustrated booklet contains excerpts from the Mingulay
school log book 1875-1910, and contributions about the
history of the island and its schools by Ben Buxton and
David Powell. Never published before, the log book offers a
window into the daily life on Mingulay and its small
community during its final years.
ISBN 978-1-907443-37-4 Booklet
Retail £6.00
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THE DECLINE AND FALL OF ST
KILDA
This thought provoking volume is based on
the very successful conference held in Great
Bernera, Lewis in August 2005 to mark the
75th anniversary of the evacuation of St
Kilda. It examines the background to the
island’s dramatic history in the context of the
struggles for survival of other remote islands
in the Western Isles, Shetland, Ireland, and
the Faroes. The authors shed new light on
the oft-told story of St Kilda’s decline and
fall, and challenge the many myths which
have grown up over the centuries.
210x150mm | 215pp | b/w & colour
Original retail price £12.00
ISBN 97809546238-7-6
Reduced retail price £10.00
EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN LEWIS
The Ness Connection
Ian Stewart-Hargreaves and Rachel
Barrowman
In this new illustrated booklet, Ian Stewart-
Hargreaves claims that the island of Lewis
has some of the earliest Christian sites in
Scotland, established several centuries
before the Columban church reached Iona in
the sixth century. He believes the north of
Lewis had pre-Christian ritual significance,
that the Pictish Christian church became
established there as early as the third century
AD, and that Ness was the destination of a
medieval pilgrimage route. The booklet also
contains a paper by professional archaeologist
Rachel Barrowman which looks
dispassionately at the archaeological
evidence for early Christianity in Ness.
Altogether, a most thought-provoking
publication, based on the successful Book
Trust symposium held in September 2008
210 x 150 mm | 44 pp | 9 b/w | booklet
ISBN 978-0-9555420-8-4
Retail price £ 6.00
CALVANISM, LITERATURE AND
THE IMAGINATION
Prof Donald Macleod
This thought-provoking booklet, based on a
memorable lecture by one of Scotland’s
leading thinkers about religion at an Islands
Book Trust event in Summer 2009, sets out
Professor Donald Macleod’s views on an
important and controversial subject – the
relationship between Calvinism, literature
and creative writing. The caricature of rigid
Presbyterianism suppressing artistic expres-
sion is well-known, but is it true and is it
consistent with the teachings of Calvin?
Professor Macleod was born in Lewis and is
Principal of the Free Church College in
Edinburgh
210 x 140mm | 23pp booklet
ISBN 978-0-9560764-9-6
Retail Price £5.00
ICELAND AND THE HEBRIDES
My Roots
Sally Magnusson
In this illustrated booklet based on a talk
given to the Book Trust, Sally Magnusson
the well-known journalist and broadcaster
reflects on her own Icelandic and Hebridean
heritage and the strong if neglected historic
links – in both directions between Iceland
and the Hebrides. While it is well known that
Lewis and other parts of the Hebrides have
many place-names which owe their origin to
Norse settlers, the possible influence of
Celtic story-telling on the Icelandic sagas
and new evidence from DNA analysis
suggest that the Hebrides may also have had
a profound impact on Icelandic culture.
210x145 mm | 28pp | 10 colour pictures and
map — booklet
ISBN 978-0-9555420-9-1
Retail price £5.00
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SHETLAND, ORKNEY AND THE
WESTERN ISLES
Some Personal Reflections on Compara-
tive Island Life
Colin Scott Mackenzie
This booklet offers a fascinating insight into
the similarities and differences between the
Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland.
The author, Colin Scott Mackenzie, is
uniquely qualified to do so, because he has
served for many years as Sheriff in all three
island groups. The aim is to provoke discussion
and debate among islanders who have much
to learn from each other.
Sheriff Mackenzie comes from a distinguished
Stornoway family. As well as his legal
pedigree, he is related to such well-known
historical writers as William Cook
Mackenzie and Agnes Mure Mackenzie.
210 x 140mm | 35pp | 31 colour photos and
images
ISBN 978-1-907443-06-0 Booklet
Retail price £7.50
GAME ON LEWIS AND HARRIS
Past and Present
David S D Jones
In this attractively illustrated booklet, David
Jones looks at the changing wildlife of Lewis
and Harris over the centuries as seen through
estate and game records. He charts the rise
and fall of particular species, often heavily
influenced by the management policies of
the estates, and gives a tantalising insight
into changing attitudes and the world of
sporting estates.
By drawing on sources not hitherto widely
used, David Jones’ research, based on his
impressive Western Isles Country Sports
Archive, allows a glimpse of a different
world, which will be of absorbing interest to
those fascinated by both the natural and
social history of the islands.
210x150mm | 64pp with 40 illustrations in
colour and b & w,
ISBN 978-0-9555420-2-2.
Retail price £6.00
CALLANISH
Monument, Moon and Mountain
Ian McHardy
The magnificent Callanish stones have captured
the imagination for centuries. From Martin
Martin to Lady Matheson and New Age
Travellers, they have been the source of
fascination and speculation. In turn, they
have given rise to innumerable theories
about their purpose, and why such an
impressive prehistoric monument should be
located in Lewis and on this particular site.
This booklet by Ian McHardy, a professional
archaeologist and historian, sets out some
important new ideas, drawing on folklore in
Scotland and the Celtic world more generally.
He demonstrates the value of looking across
disciplines, using insights from physical
science as well as traditional beliefs and
folklore, to shed new light on this age-old
subject.
210 x 140mm | 20pp | 11 colour and b & w
photos
ISBN 978-1-907443-08-4 Booklet
Retail price £7.50
SPEAK TO US CATRIONA
Donald S Murray
In this new collection of haunting and
memorable poems, Donald S Murray takes
his inspiration from ‘Tales and Traditions of
the Lews', the posthumously published work
of the celebrated amateur folklorist and
historian Dr Donald Macdonald of Gisla
(Dolly Doctor). Murray 's poetry follows the
same pattern of bringing together material
from many different sources. The resulting
poems celebrate the richness of the past and
present of Lewis, focussing not only on its
complexity but also on the diverse and
dramatic lives of the island's inhabitants.
210x147mm | 47 pp
ISBN 978-0-9546238-8-3
Retail price £5.00
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THE SUMMER OF ‘89’
Bob Charnley
Following the chance discovery of a photo-
graph album chronicling the journey of a late
Victorian photographer around Scotland,
Bob Charnley set out to retrace his journey
and recover information about the people
and places portrayed in these evocative
images. The quality of the photographs stand
alongside those of George Washington
Wilson and D O Hill, and ‘The Summer of
‘89’ is now widely regarded as a classic
Victorian record of Highland life, and of the
west coast in particular.
240x190mm | 132 pp hardback, including
the original photographs in b/w throughout
Original retail price £14.95
ISBN 978 0 9516022 1 8
Reduced retail price £12.00
THE HIGHLAND CLAN MACNEA-
CAIL (MACNICOL)’
David Sellar and Alasdair Maclean
An entirely new account of the history of
one of the oldest Hebridean clans, the
Nicolsons of Scorrybreac in Skye, from their
origin in a remote Scandinavian past to their
dispersal around the globe in modern times.
This book is a remarkable synthesis of sound
scholarship and living oral tradition.
Historical texts, myths, traditions, story and
poetry are critically examined to produce a
fascinating history.
240x162mm | 96pp | hardback, including
colour pictures.
Original retail price £12.95
ISBN 978 1 899272 02 0
Reduced retail price £10.00
‘EXPEDITIONS TO THE
HEBRIDES’
George Clayton Atkinson
Edited by David Quine, this is a lavishly
illustrated and beautifully produced book
including extensive extracts from the
journals of the naturalist George Clayton
Atkinson, covering his explorations of the
Western Isles and St Kilda in 1831, and his
subsequent expedition to Skye, the Shiants
and Lewis in 1833. An intriguing insight into
both the natural and human history of these
islands at a crucial stage in their transition
from traditional societies to the modern
world.
240x160mm | 190pp | hardback, including
many colour illustrations throughout
Original retail price £25.00
ISBN 978 1 899272 06 8.
Reduced retail price £15.00
TRAVELS IN THE WESTERN
HEBRIDES FROM 1782 TO 1790’
Rev. John Lane Buchanan
In 1793, the Reverend Buchanan published a
searchingly full and controversial account of
his time spent in Harris and other parts of the
Outer Hebrides, including St Kilda, as
Missionary Minister. Including many first-
hand descriptions of the fauna and flora,
perhaps his most interesting observations are
on the people, their housing, social
behaviour and customs, their talents,
religious and educational prospects, and their
harsh experiences in making a livelihood in
an unfavourable climate and social structure.
This is a new publication of the original
book, with an introduction by Dr Alasdair
Maclean.
240x165 mm |112pp | paperback, with
illustrations.
Original retail price £8.50
ISBN 978 1 899272 04 4
Reduced retail price £5.00
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MURDO CROLA
A Learned Man and a Very Talented Postman
Iain Smith and Murdo Maclennan
The remarkable story of self-educated scholar Murdo Macdonald (1907-1940) who lived in a remote cottage at Crola, Kinlochresort on the boundary between Lewis and Harris.
Iain Smith was raised in Ness in the Island of Lewis. Iain Smith’s father was told in 1932: “You must meet Murdo Crola, a local postman, a man who has never been to school. When I first came here, a few years ago, Murdo and I went for a walk along the local cliffs. And, as the sun was sinking in the Western sky on a beautiful evening over the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, I could not help but say two lines from the Odyssey. Murdo said to me ‘Yes, minister: the Greeks also loved the sea’ and then quoted to me the next two lines of the Odyssey. John, this is no ordinary postman”.
210 x 150 |24pp | I map and 11 photos | Booklet
Retail price £5.00
LIFE ON THE EDGE Growing up in Steimreway
The Story of Chirsty Maggie Carmichael
Bob Chambers
Of all the settlements in Pairc, Stiomrabhagh (Steimreway) holds a special place in the heart of many. It is partly the beautiful setting, a ‘green oasis’ amongst the dark moorland surrounding it, partly the personal and family links which many people have with this now deserted village, But for all this interest, there have hitherto been no accounts of what it was actually like to live there. This is why Chirsty Maggie Carmichael’s story, put together by Bob Chambers with the help of Chirsty Maggie, her family, and many others, is so valuable. Through this unique account, we learn for the first time about the pattern of ordinary life in Steimreway – for example, Chirsty Maggie’s weekly walk to Lemreway school, the visits from the Minister, the waulking events, and the excitement of village weddings.
210 x 150 | 16 pp | 8 photos | Booklet
Retail price £5.00
OBAIR GUN DUAIS?
Alasdair MacGilleMhìcheil a’ tional ainmean Gàidhlig eun
A THANKLESS TASK?
Alexander Carmichael as a collector of Gael-ic bird names
Tristan ap Rheinallt
Everyone who has an interest in Gaelic culture and tradition will be familiar with the folklore collector Alexander Carmichael and with his masterwork, Carmina Gadelica. Plenty of evidence can be found within this work for how Carmichael took a keen interest in words and expressions related to natural history. It is known too that he collected large numbers of Gaelic bird names and sent lists of them to the ornithologists of the day. But how well qualified was he for this kind of collecting work? Was he correct when he wrote that he was engaged in ‘a thankless task’? These are just some of the questions addressed in this book.
198x 129mm | 100pp including 20 colour and b&w photos and illustrations
ISBN : 978-1-907443-10-7 Retail price £9.99
AIMHREIT AN FHEARAINN
The Land Struggle in Skye and Lewis
The 1880s marked a dramatic stage in the demand by crofters throughout the Highlands and Islands for land reform following the injustices of the Clearances. Crofters found a stronger voice, given greater confidence by the Highland Land Law Reform Association and developments in Ireland, and put pressure on landlords and the Government for improved rights and more land.
This illustrated book examines some of the key episodes in the Land Struggle in Skye and Lewis in areas such as Glendale and Pairc. The contributors, led by Professor James Hunter, provide new insights into the background and consequences of important events such as the Glendale Rising and the Pairc Deer Raid and the part played by figures such as John MacPherson, Donald Macrae and the Rev. Donald MacCallum.
ISBN 978-907443-27-5
Retail £7.50
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GAELIC ON MAPS AND SIGNS IN SCOTLAND
Why it Matters
Ruairidh MacIlleathain
Roddy MacLean (Ruairidh MacIlleathain) is
a well-known Gaelic journalist and broad-
caster with links to Lewis (his grandfather
was from Callanish). In this stimulating and
passionately argued publication, based on a
presentation to the Book Trust in November
2010, Ruairidh assesses the current position
with regard to the use of Gaelic on signs and
maps in Scotland, both the patchy extent of
its usage and the frequent grammatical errors
which are prevalent. He argues that it is
important that the language is no longer
hidden away as has been the case for
generations, and that bilingual signage has
an important role in improving the
language’s status, visibility and usage. He
compares the position in Scotland unfavour-
ably with that of other minority languages
elsewhere in the world
ISBN: 978-1-907443-24-4 Booklet
Retail Price £6.50
THE ISLAND DWELLINGS OF NORTH UIST
Five Millennia of Island Life
Robert Lenfert
Robert Lenfert, a young American archaeol-
ogist preparing for a PhD at the University
of Nottingham, is the second recipient of the
GAMA (Gatliff/Angus Macleod Archive)
Award. This is funded by The Gatliff Trust
and The Islands Book Trust to allow students
to spend time in the Western Isles in order to
carry out their research, which is then
published. Robert was drawn to the crannogs
or duns, the island dwellings, that are to be
found in the Outer Hebrides, in general, and
on North Uist, in particular. His research
work was carried out in the Summer of 2010.
ISBN 978-1-907443-22-0 Booklet
Retail Price £6.00
PAPER CAIRNS
Poetry and Prose based on the work and
life of Angus Macleod (1916-2002)
Laura Helyer
This booklet contains a range of poems and a
short essay by Laura Helyer, a talented
young writer and graduate of St Andrews
University. Laura was the first recipient of
the GAMA (Gatliff/Angus Macleod Archive)
Award in 2009. This is funded by The
Gatliff Trust and The Islands Book Trust to
allow students to spend time in the Western
Isles in order to carry out their research,
which is then published. Laura was inspired
by the life and work of Angus ‘Ease’
Macleod (1916-2002) of Calbost, South
Lochs, Lewis.
210 x 140 mm | 24pp | 6 colour & b & w
photos
ISBN 978-1-907443-00-8 Booklet
Retail price £5.00
SOUTH LOCHS IN THE LEVERHULME ERA
A Community in Crisis
Monique Watt, a recent history graduate of Aberdeen University, was the 2011 winner of the GAMA (Gatliff/Angus Macleod Archive) Award. Researching into how the small community of South Lochs was affected by and responded to the acute problems and pressures coinciding with Lord Leverhulme’s ownership of the island in the years following the First World War. This booklet summarises the results of her pioneering research – showing for the first time at township and individual croft level how population over-crowding, land raiding, and eventually emigration, played their part in resolving a critical situation.
ISBN 978-1-907443-36- Booklet
Retail £6.00
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1 St Kilda and Foula - John Randall, Michael Robson, Isobel Holburn £2.00 21 Tory Island - the Island that Nearly Died - Alasdair MacEachan £2.00
2 Place names of Barra and Lewis - Michael Robson, Anke-Beate Stahl £2.00 22 The Decline and Fall of Mingulay - Ben Buxton £2.00
3 History of Port of Ness harbour - Michael Robson £2.00 23 The Early History of Ness - Donald William Stewart £2.00
4 A Background to Shielings - Michael Robson £2.00 24 Singers and Tradition Bearers in Lewis and Harris I have known £2.00
5 Beehive Structures in Uig, Lewis - Dave Roberts £2.00 25 Tristan da Cunha - Paul Tyler £2.00
6 Travellers to the Hebrides - Elizabeth Bray £2.00 26 The Shiants - Adam Nicolson £2.00
7 The Flannan Isles - Michael Robson £2.00 27 World War Two in the Hebrides - Mike Hughes £1.50
8 Some Collectors of Gaelic song - Morag Macleod £2.00 28 Breaking down the Barriers - Lesley Riddoch £2.00
9 Looking at Monuments - the work of Historic Scotland in Lewis £2.00 29 The Archaeology of the Shiants - Dr Mary Macleod £2.00
10 Troubles over Rona - Michael Robson £2.00 30 Cultural changes in Quebec since the Gaelic Settlers - M Bennett £2.00
11 Rum - a Landscape without Figures - John Love £2.00 31 Three Centuries of Natural History in the Highlands - John Love £2.00
12 Writing about Islands - Mairi Hedderwick £2.00 32 The Seaweed Industries in Uist - Roddy Macdonald £2.50
13 St Kilda and 'the outside world' - Michael Robson £2.00 33 Pairc—Old Enigma New Ideas - Dr. Mary Macleod £2.00
14 Harvie-Brown in the Outer Hebrides - Michael Robson £2.00 34 The Changing Fortunes of Lewis Sporting Estates - David S.D.Jones £2.00
15 A Head for Heights - Sea Stacks - Chris Barrowman et al £2.00 35 Kinlochresort—Deserted Island Settlement– Ian R. Mitchell £2.00
16 The Deserted Settlement of Steimreway - John Randall £2.00 36 History of Eilean Glas Lighthouse, Scalpay - Islands Book Trust £2.00
17 Martin Martin on Uist - Michael Robson £2.00 37 The Church and Mingulay - Father Michael Macdonald £2.50
18 The Island of Scarp - Calum John Mackay £2.00
19 The Great Forest on the other side of Loch Shell - Michael Robson £2.00
20 A Grand Tour of Scotland's Inhabited Islands - Cairns Aitken £2.00
Island Notes are summaries of talks
given at events arranged by the Book Trust (already made available to Gold members). The new series is produced in an attractive A5 booklet format and is available at a modest price as listed in the table below.
20
20
The Islands Book Trust
Ravenspoint Centre
Kershader
Lochs
Isle of Lewis
HS2 9QA
Tel +44 (0) 1851 880737
www.theislandsbooktrust.com
EVENTS CALENDAR
Visit our website at www.theislandsbooktrust.com for the comprehensive list of events organised by The Islands Book Trust throughout the year.
THE ISLANDS BOOK TRUST – HIGH QUALITY BOOKS ON ISLAND THEMES IN ENGLISH AND GAELIC
Based in Lewis, the Islands Book Trust are a charity committed to furthering understanding and appreciation of
the history of Scottish islands in their wider Celtic and Nordic context. We do this through publishing books,
organising talks and conferences, visits , radio broadcasts, research and education on island themes. For details of
membership of the Book Trust, which will keep you in touch with all our publications and other activities, see
www.theislandsbooktrust.com or phone 01851 880737.