The Scottish Radiance Book Shelf 
The Scottish Radiance Book Shelf
"Fearchair a' Ghunna"
The Ross- shire Wanderer
The life and saying of a 19th century packman, nicknamed for his passion for gun-powder. Farguhar, dressed in his fantastic garb of old clothes and rags ornamented with guns, pebbles, links of chain and scraps of paper led his vagabond life at a time when such travelers were often welcomed in the villages they visited. His witty and often pointed remarks sprang from his simpleminded approach to life and other people and were relished and oft-repeated in his native Ross-shire. First published 1881, now in facsimile of a later edition.
Life * 185 x 120 * 84 pp * ISBN 1 899863 03 8
Price £4.95 plus shipping and handling
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Comrie in the Distance Fair
Edited by Peter R. McNaughton
This anthology of poems written in the main by Comrie people about the Village of Comrie and the surrounding area ranges from earliest times until today. The book spans approximately 1000 years and contains some rare old black and white photographs. It will be seen that through the telescope of time people have always been drawn to record its natural setting, its mountains and rivers, as well as its characters and moments through verse and song. This continuity surely shows that whilst things may alter in the world beyond, some things never change.
The collection was gathered from many sources over the years, principally by the editor's father, the late David Baird McNaughton, a native of Comrie. It is being published for the enjoyment of the people of Comrie and the wider Scottish global community, as well as others interested in the evolution of our culture and history. In recent years it was enhanced by contributions from various people in other parts of Scotland and North America. By design, and through selection, it tells the story of the Village and its people, taking into account some of their interests, pastimes and even eccentricities. It also clearly shows that, despite the simpler and perhaps harsher existence which country life offers, all of life's great challenges were met and overcome, and that throughout there have always been rays of sunshine.
History/People * 272 pp * pb * ISBN 1 900 489 00 7
This book is out of print.
Clinging to the Edge
Journals from an Orkney Island
by Jim Hewiston
Most people will admit to a passion for islands. For some it's the romance of a Swiss Family Robinson adventure, for others simply the discovery of a hideaway where a genuine sense of place and community can still be found. There is no doubt, however, that this Islomania, as Lawrence Durrelll once describes it, does exist.
Intriguingly, for many of Scotland's remote islands , plagued in the twentieth century by depopulation, there is a growing realization that harnessing this island fever could play a significant part in their long-term survival as communities. Papa Westray, a mystical island of monks, is hardly more than a dot on the map of Scotland, yet it has a remarkable record of habitation which spans more than 5,000 years - a continuity of settlement difficult to match anywhere in the world. only in the past 20 years though, has the world at large come to know the treasures of Papa Westray.
This far flung Orkney Isle and journalist Jim Hewiston found each other in the early 1980. With its 25 households, 70 or so permanent residents, a mini-economy based on cattle, sheep and shell fishing, the island sustains only a fraction of the population it did a century ago.
"Clinging to the Edge" brings together eight years of articles, essays and diary jottings which portray a fascinating island battered not just by Atlantic storms but by the pressures of contemporary economic. It provides a series of snapshots of life on the ocean fringe, the strains, stresses and joys of being part of a compact community still living, more than most, but a world apart.
As society becomes more uniform and featureless, the colour and character of Papa Westray portrayed in these pages surely indicate why the loss of any island community would make Scotland a poorer place.
History/People * 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 * 224 pp * 15 color and 15 b/w photographs & illustrations throughout * ISBN 1 85158 821 3
This paper back book is available for £14.99 plus shipping/handling (Notice: cost is in pound sterling not US dollars like most of our other books). Order If you want to pay with cash or call in the order go here.
Colkitto!
A Celebration of Clan Donald Colonsay
By Kevin Byren
Colla Coitach (1570 - 1674) lived at a pivotal period and its remembered as a man of heroic stature in the oral and poetic tradition of the West, but the measured work of historians has eroded his stature and that of his might son, Sir Alasdair Mac Donald, Knight of the Field - the man who empowered Montrose. This is a frank celebration of an ancient hero, a truly charismatic figure, a man who lived largely, loved truly and fought valiantly, a man as ready with the "mot juste" as with the broadsword. In July 1647, Cola Ciotach was the last of the accredited Royalist leader to remain in the field, when Dunivaig fell, so did Gaeldom.
Book review found here.
History * 200 pp * Illustrations * ISBN 1 899863 192
Price £13.99 plus shipping and handling
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or you can phone or send cash by going here.
The Crofter's War
by I M M MacPhail
The later years of the 19th-century saw a period of political and social agitation in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. This volume gives a detailed account of that time, and provides new insight into a critical period in the history of crofting.
History/People * 215mm x 150 mm * 252 pp * hb * ISBN 0 86152 860 3
Price £16.50 plus shipping and handling
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Diary 1851
by John Munro Mackenzie, Chamberlain of the Lewis
An eyewitness account of mid 19th century life on the island of Lewis by the Factor to Sir James Matheson.
History/People * 214 mm x 152 mm
pb * ISBN 0 86152 8923 5 * Price £12.99 plus shipping and handling
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or you can phone or send cash by going here.
or you can phone or send cash by going here.
Fishing and Whaling
by Angus Martin
‘Absolutely full of information' - Scottish Home and Country
From prehistoric times fishing has been vital in the life and culture of Scotland, contributing crucially to the Scottish diet and shaping work and play in many communities. Fishing methods, skills and technologies, and the lives and customs of fishing communities.
History/People * 178 x 125 * 88 pp * 9 colour * 40 b/w illustrations * ISBN 0 948636 67 X
Price $6.95 plus shipping and handling
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Gaelic Proverbs
by Alexander Nicolson
Foreword by Ian MacDonald
This long awaited reprint of the largest and best known collection of Gaelic proverbs in the world, has modernized the spelling and a revised index. The proverbs appear in Gaelic along with the English translation. Nicolson's work remains the standard of Highland sayings and wisdom.
History/People * 198 x 129 mm * pb * 518 pp *ISBN 1874744149
Price $19.95 plus shipping and handling
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Going to School
by Donald Withrington
Almost everybody has gone to school, and in the past more children in Scotland attended school than in other European countries. Donald Withrington examines what this involved, from before the reformation to the twentieth century. He described how education moved from a parish to a state system, and how this affected teaching and learning. Attitudes, styles and experience of education changed but Scotland remained, and remains, a highly educated country. This absorbing account helps to explain why.
History/People * 178 x 125 mm * pb * 88 pp * 10 colour & 35 b/w illustrations * ISBN 0 948636 89 0
Price £4.99 plus shipping and handling
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