The Highlands and Islands of Scotland
A New History
by Alistair Moffat
- Paperback
- E-book
History
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
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'
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
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
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. It’s a wonderful book
LoveReading
This combination of the scholarly and the personal feels fresh... [an] energetic and imaginative history
Current Archaeology
Alistair Moffat is a fine writer and an experienced and successful author of popular history books. As would be expected, this is a very readable and engaging work
Scottish Local History
About the Book
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.
The Author
Alistair Moffat
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, and lives in the Scottish Borders.
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