Charles W. J. Withers

Author

Charles W.J. Withers is Professor Emeritus and former Ogilvie Chair of Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Between 2015 and 2022, he was Geographer Royal for Scotland, the first in 118 years. His books include Zero Degrees: Geographies of the Prime Meridian (2017) and, as co-author, the prize-winning Scotland: Mapping the Nation (2011).

Charles W.J. Withers is Professor Emeritus and former Ogilvie Chair of Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Between 2015 and 2022, he was Geographer Royal for Scotland, the first in 118 years. His books include Zero Degrees: Geographies of the Prime Meridian (2017) and, as co-author, the prize-winning Scotland: Mapping the Nation (2011).

Books

  • A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, Circa 1695
    Paperback | Pub: 20 Jul 2023
    £14.99

    Written before the Jacobite rebellions irrevocably changed the face of Highland society, Martin Martin’s A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland and A Late Voyage to St Kilda paint a fascinating picture of the Hebrides at a crucial...

  • Majestic River
    Hardback | Pub: 03 Nov 2022
    £30.00

    One of the greatest stories of world exploration ever told. By the late eighteenth century, the river Niger was a 2,000-year-old two-part geographical problem. Solving it would advance European knowledge of Africa, provide a route to commercial...

  • Gaelic in Scotland 1698-1981
    E-Book | Pub: 01 Dec 2021
    £25.00

    Surprisingly little is known of the geographical history of Gaelic: where and when it was spoken in the past, and how and why the Gaelic-speaking area of Scotland – the Gaidhealtachd – has retreated and the language declined. A hundred years ago...

  • Scotland: Mapping the Nation
    Hardback | Pub: 26 Oct 2017
    £35.00

    Winner of the Saltire Society Research Book of the Year Whilst documents and other written material are obvious resources that help shape our view of the past, maps too can say much about a nation’s history. This is the first book to take maps...