The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History

(Paperback, New in Paperback)

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Description

Alistair Moffat tells the extraordinary story of the Highlands in the most detailed book ever written about this remarkable part of Scotland.

This is the story of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland as it has never been told before. From the formation of the landscape millions of years ago to the twenty-first century, it brings to life the events and the people who have shaped Highland history, from saints, sinners and outlaws to monarchs, clan chiefs and warriors.

Highly readable and informative, it mines a wide range of sources including medieval manuscripts and sagas, poetry and popular culture. Picts, Romans, Irish missionaries, Vikings, Jacobites and the flood of emigrants who left to forge new lives abroad are just some of the important players in the drama. As he paints the bigger picture, Alistair Moffat also introduces many key aspects of Highland culture and explores the experience of ordinary Highlanders and Islanders over thousands of years.

Reviews

'Moffat brings to vibrant and palpable life the Highlands and Islands from the primeval and prehistoric to the present. Arranged like a mosaic, the glue is the people who populated the region, and its pages peppered with the lines of great poets and songsters from Sorley Maclean and Norman MacCaig to Runrig'

* Sunday Post *

'one of those rare books that takes a fairly specialised subject and makes it available and accessible to a very wide audience: in Scotland and far beyond'

-- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *

'This is a splendid and thoroughly enjoyable book, one from which most of us can surely learn a lot. I would advise reading it straight through, then returning to dip in again and again'

* The Scotsman *

'This epic book moves from Orkney as capital of Britain to the Highland Clearances and the romancing of the Highlands, telling us about the coming of the Gaelic language, the art of the Picts, Jacobitism and the heroism of the clans and all in a new way'

* Scotrail Inspiration Hub *

'a very personal history, richly informative and sparkling with detail'

-- Mary Miers * Country Life *

'an epic history of a fascinating subject, featuring the stories of individuals, the telling moments and the crucial details which enrich the human story and add context and colour to the saga of Scotland'

-- Miranda Melcher * New Books Network *

'This is not simply a history of kings, queens and nobles... Throw in Moffat's uncanny ability to root out neatly illustrative gems from obscure primary sources, plus his easy and engaging writing style, and the end result is a book which undoubtedly adds to the sum of our knowledge'

* Scottish Field *

'This meticulously researched book traces the unique history of Highland Scotland seamlessly melding together geography, geology, sociology, and culture into one complete hardback'

-- Lynne Mcneil * Life and Work *

'An extraordinary achievement ... Moffat is a kilt-weaver - he has mastered the craft of being able to draw threads through time and connect everything to what we see today, presenting it neatly and colourfully. Its a wonderful book'

-- Greg Hackett * LoveReading *

'This combination of the scholarly and the personal feels fresh... [an] energetic and imaginative history'

* Current Archaeology *

Author Bio

Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Director of Programmes at Scottish Television and founder of the Borders Book Festival, he is also the author of a number of highly acclaimed books. From 2011 he was Rector of the University of St Andrews. He has written more than thirty books on Scottish history.