Top 10 Scottish Books

May 2004

'What Jack Alexander gives us is an intriguing and often moving history...Alexander's book is full of absorbing stories. He claims that it was 16 years in the writing and I believe him. Judging by the footnotes, appendices, bibliographies and acknowledgements his research was extraordinary.'
Scottish Sunday Herald

'this book is of wider interest than just to Hearts fans or students of Edinburgh's history. Anyone who wants to see how a team of footballers can translate that familiar sporting cliche of "taking the fight to the opposition" into reality should read it. This is, quite simply, the best football-related book of the year.'
Times of London

THE HIGHLAND HIGH WAY is a magnificent high-level route through some of Scotland's most dramatic scenery and across its finest hills.

Running for 105 miles from Loch Lomond to Fort William, the route includes Black Mount, one of the greatest hill walks in the country; an exhilarating ridge walk along the Aonah Eagach; and a Munro extravaganza in the Mamores. The grand finale is Ben Nevis, approached along the spectacular Carn Mor Dearg arete.

The eight-day route described in this book takes in at least 14 Munros, among them Ben Lomond, Ben Lui and Beinn Dorain.

'The joys, the risks and the motivatations of mountain climbing are at the heart of this remarkable book.'
The Glasgow Herald

'joyfully recalls more than half a century of expeditions in every corner of the globe...This however is not simply a boastful account of Slesser's albeit impressive achievements. Nor is it an inventory of hardships withstood. Instead, it uses his ample stock of stories to question why climbers choose to face such enormous risks - of hypothermia, altitude sickness and fatal falls...This fine book could make even the most armchair-bound readers reach for their boots.'
Daily Mail

'True story of the biggest cocaine bust in British history. Scottish chancers attempt to smuggle in half a ton of finest Columbian nosebag. All the while, super-sleuth customs officials are on their trail, astounded by the smugglers incompetence. The verdict: A great story, chock full of detail and hilarious characters, like the dope-smoking scallop-diver whom disaster follows like a shadow.

'Try if you like: Whiskey Galore with class A's. '
FHM

'the result is a thrilling tale from both the hunted and the hunters.'
Ross-Shire Journal

Providing an invaluable guide to the surnames of Scotland each entry in this book covers the history, areas of family lands, castles and tartans (ancient and modern) associated with the powerful clans of the Highlands - and the great families of the Lowlands.

 

 

 

Turned down by all the major film companies, The Quiet Man brought together John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara for only the second time on screen, won two Oscars and was showered with both critical and popular praise on both sides of the Atlantic.

'It is one of the classics of the 'silver screen' and to this day worldwide video and DVD sales are quite remarkable...filmed on location in some of the loveliest parts of the west of Ireland with the full hearted cooperation of all and sundry and winning two Oscars to boot...It could not fail and it didn't. Full of on and off screen detail and illustrated with some rare photographs.
Ireland of the Welcomes

Rangers entered the new world of sport and big business in April 1986 when they signed Graeme Souness, a man with no previous connections to a club steeped in its own historical traditions. These traditions are ineluctably intertwined with those of their great Glasgow rivals, Celtic, whose origins as an Irish Catholic club set up the rivalry that became known as the Old Firm, once said to be 'a business based on bigotry'.

Celtic were slow to react to the Souness challenge at Ibrox, especially when Souness was joined by a new owner at Rangers, millionaire businessman David Murray, but after years of squabbling at Celtic Park, Celtic's saviour arrived in the form of expatriate millionaire Fergus McCann.

'an honest, yet balanced account'
Scotland on Sunday

'revealing autobiography'
The Herald

'The real importance of SCOTLAND FIRST - less dramatic than the drama of personal rivalries is the book's genuine contribution to contemporary history - is what McLeish has to say about the early days of devolution... the thoughtful last chapters of SCOTLAND FIRST reveal McLeish as a man of vision as well as a practical politician... SCOTLAND FIRST is a credit both to McLeish and to the country which he has served'
Roy Hattersley, Scotland on Sunday

'In a straightforward manner he deals with the scandal of the spiralling costs of the Holyrood Parliament building and with his own officigate scandal. Finally, he offers his own radical plan for the future of Scottish and UK politics.'
Strathaven Echoes

'The book's climactic chapter is devoted to a dive on the Corryvreckan Whirlpool and is a truly enjoyable adventure story, which most British divers will lap up.'
Dive

'Knowledgeable and precise, this book offers a close second to the experience of actually donning breathing equipment and disappearing beneath the waves, while describing diving with a purpose, primarily the investigation of wrecks. The trials and tribulations of various dives make for fascinating reading, and the wonder of the undersea world is well evoked, as are the many dangers. An excellent book that will prompt a new passion or feed a hungry one.'
The Good Book Guide

Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald, or 'Fighting Mac' as he was known to an adoring public, was one of Britain's greatest military heroes. A crofter's son who had risen through the ranks, he enjoyed a long and successful career and in 1898 was widely acknowledged as the true hero of the Battle of Omdurman, which cemented British imperial rule in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

Everything lay at his feet - a knighthood, honours, the respect of fellow generals such as Roberts and Kitchener - but Macdonald's career came to a shocking end when he was accused of sexual immorality involving younger men and was ordered to face a court martial. Unable to come to terms with the disgrace, he took his own life in Paris, on a spring morning in 1903. A few days later he was buried hastily in an Edinburgh cemetery.

'A fascinating study of an extraordinary and tragic life.'
The Scotsman

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