My list of some of the best non-fiction Scottish Books. Not your typical tourist books and Travel Guides, but books which scratch under the surface and show the real Scotland and History of Scotland in words and images.

Latest Scottish Bestsellers

Highlanders: A History of the Gaels In this sweeping chronicle, award-winning journalist John Macleod offers an insider's view of the Scottish Highlands, from the Stone Age to the present day. In this illuminating, wonderfully readable study, John Macleod unfolds the history of the land and people of the Scottish Highlands. From Mesolithic man, through the Celts, the Vikings, and the Lords of the Isles to the Stuart monarch, Macleod examines the terrible events following Culloden and the forced emigrations, the Evangelical Movement, and the Crofter's War. Bringing the story right up to date, he looks at the current decline of the Gaels and the struggle of the Highland people to redefine themselves in a changing world. Non-fiction Scottish.

Scottish Highlanders: A People and Their...Place. Scottish Highlanders: A People and Their Place. Here you will find the story of how the Gaels, the Scottish Highlanders, came to be marginalised in the country they had made; the history of their many risings and rebellions; the tragedy of their final defeat at Culloden; the tale of their betrayal by those chieftains who, in the 19th century, expelled their own clansfolk to make way for sheep.

Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales Scotland has some of the riches and most varied folklore in the world, influenced by the Celts, Picts, the Scots, the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons. This book provides an A - Z of locations throughout the Scotland and folklore associated with each place.

DAMN REBEL BITCHES Scottish women, be they common or noble, have always had a unique place in Scottish History. Unfortunately their story is often missing from the pages of Scottish history annals. Ms Criag has provided readers with a unique glimpse into the romantic period of the second Jacobite uprising from the women's point of view. The women were remarkably loyal to a man and cause doomed from the start. This is a must read if you want an historical approach that is scholarly in its content but entertaining in its delivery.

The Lighthouse Stevensons: The... Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson. "Whenever I smell salt water, I know that I am not far from one of the works of my ancestors." -- Robert Louis Stevenson. The 14 lighthouses dotting the Scottish coast were all built by the same family that produced Robert Louis Stevenson, Scotland's most famous novelist. Surprised? Bella Bathurst throws a powerful, revolving light into the darkness of this historical tradition. I highly recommend this book.

Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland by Neal Ascherson. How does one define a country? What is nationalism? These are some of the questions journalist Ascherson attempts to answer in a book that is part history lesson, part travelogue, and more: one man's search for a nation. A small country on Europe's edge, Scotland is complex, and its changing identity can confuse. It now has its own parliament, yet it remains part of the U.K. Is it, then, a true nation? Ascherson explores aspects of Scotland's past, present, and future.

Scottish Dates The key dates in Scotland's history: historical and literary, artistic and scientific etc; providing a great reference book to Scotland's past.

The Survival of the Unfittest: The...Highland Clearances and the End of Isolation. An Introduction to the `Highland Problem.' The Making of A'Ghaidhealtachd Am Fasgadh. Health Nutrition. Ill-Health. The Most Prevalent Diseases. Eviction and Its Aftermath. Gaeldom's Magna Carta. Legislated Health Care In the Highlands and Islands. `The Dietaries of Scotch Agricultural Labourers' etc;

The wars of the Bruces : Scotland,... A very readable narrative of a momentous episode in British History. Robert Bruce's war with England profoundly affected the role of the British Isles: Scottish raiders struck deep into the heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire. English communities bought off the Scots. Ireland was nearly subdued, the Isle of Man Captured and a Welsh sea-port raided. Transcending national viewpoints, this book protrays not the high deeds of a great men but the horrors of war.

Bairns-Scottish Children in Photographs An important contribution to Scotland's social history.

Into the Foreground: A Century of...Scottish Woman in Photographs.This remarkable visual record of women in Scotland brings them into the foreground, and conveys strengths and humour, hard work, and above all diversity. Its highlights contrasts of class and background, of domestic and community environments, of work and change.

Epitaphs and Images from Scottish... This classic guide takes a historical and impretative approach to Scotland's graveyards. She examines their past and points out the features in them that reflect its as she guides the reader among the stones, discussing types of monument and relating each to its period.

Scottish Endings: Writings on Death Ghosts, murders, epitaphs and executions! From prehistoric times to the present day, from Greyfriars Bobby to Burke and Hare, a wealth of information, history and anecdotes on the fascinating topics of Death. Tales of princes and paupers, in Scotland and in foreign field, stories of funeral feasts and customs, extraordinary burial arrangements. Contributions from Burns, Scot, Stevenson, and many others, with famous last words and epitaphs.

St. Kilda Accounts of St Kilda. Early History and Ownership. Local Incidents Since the Beginning of the Seventeenth Century. Natural Features of the Island. Physical Characteristics of the Inhabitants - Their Dress, Food, and Houses. Climate, Crops and Livestock Population of St Kilda - Surnames, Occupations, Etc. Sea-Birds and Cragsmen. Diseases of the Islanders. Education, Morals and Religion Music, Customs and Antiquities.

Painters of Scotland: A Celebration of... A Celebration of Scottish Landscape by Vivienne Couldrey A book that will give lasting pleasure to those who love Scotland's scenery and would like to know more about how it has inspired artists over the centuries. The author conducts the reader on a tour, presenting the country as seen through the yes of the artists over the past two centuries. Photographs of the same view today highlight how the landscape has changed.

Fishing and Whaling 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.

Scotch whisky : its past and present David Daiches combines a social and economic history with personal tasting notes as she delves into the histories of distilleries and questions stillmen, maltmen and brewers on the history of our national drink.

Culloden The story of the famous battle by John Prebble, the acclaimed expert on Scottish history. The book begins in the rain at five o’clock on the morning of Wednesday, 16 April 1746, when the Royal Army marched out of Nairn to fight the clans on Culloden Moor. This is the story of the battle and of what followed, the destruction of a way of life and the persecution of a people. It is the story not of Bonnie Prince Charlie but of ordinary men and women involved in the Rebellion, who were described on the gaol registers and regimental rosters of the time as “Common Men.” The book recalls them by name and action, presenting the battle as it was for them, describing their life as fugitives in the glens or as prisoners in the gaols, their transportation to the Virginias or their deaths on the gallows.

Shades of Scotland 1956-1988 (By... Oscar Marzaroli and words by James Grassie This is no ordinary book of photographs. For 39 years Oscar Marzaroli stride across Scotland's rural and urban landscape, still camera always ready. No corner of the land nor any activity on it, from the Out Skerries in turbulent seas east of Shetland to the rolling hills of the Borders, escaped his eye. Fisherman and boat builders, farmers and weavers, oil workers and crofters, all were his subjects, and many became friends.

To See Ourselves: Rural Scotland in Old...‘The good times and hard times of life in bygone rural Scotland, captured in a powerful portrait of day to day life that has all but vanished.' The realities of rural Scotland in striking images. Farm and fisherfolk, trade and transport, craft and housework - the crowded lives of country Scots.

A Dance Called America: The Scottish... Highlands, the United States and Canada. Everyone has heard about the potato famines that drove the many Irish immigrants to North America, but what about their celtic sisters and brothers in Scotland? Was it the clearances or was it the disasterous battle at Culloden in 1745? Hunter's book looks not only at the myriad of issues that emptied the highlands, but also at how the Scotts got to North American and what happened to them when they got there. Hunter explains not only the economic factors in Scotland, but also the brutal conditions that many Scots endured during their passage to Canada and the United States. He looks at the political issues in Scotland, England, Canada and the United State. He examines how they survived and why what they did often depended on when and where they landed. Early emmigrants tended to have money whereas those coming later had next to nothing. Hunter tells you about the businesses that they started, the communities that they built and the leadership that they provide even today to new continent. A Dance Called America opens your eyes to a group of people rarely considered when examining the settlement of North America. While anyone interested in history will enjoy this book, those of Scottish descent will find it particularly interesting.

Scotland's Unsolved Mysteries of the...Like puzzles and paradoxes and unmarked graves, unsolved crimes exert a powerful pull on the human mind. In this tightly written narrative, Richard Wilson looks into fifteen enigmatic cases of death and disappearance. Here are the three lighthouse keepers who vanished without a trace, the ex-RAF pilot who disappeared on a routine Christmas Eve flight, the woman whose dismembered forearm set off an intensive-and ultimately fruitless-search by the Aberdeen police. Must reading for anyone interested in true crime stories. The son of a Scottish police detective, Richard Wilson comes naturally by his interest in true crime.

Scotch Obsessions An original, witty and occasionally controversial investigation into the beliefs, passions and phobias which have formed and influenced the Scottish character throughout the centuries.

Scottish Placenames A dictionary of over 5000 Scottish placenames including the meaning and origin of each name. This is the only book available to emphasize and detail the Gaelic origins of many Scottish placenames.

Old Skye Tales: Traditions, Reflections... A collection of myths, stories and eyewitness accounts which reveals life of Skye through the ages.

Scotland's Weather: An Anthology "This book shows how discussion of weather can be an art form," writes the Scotsman. Scotland's ice, snow rain, storm, mist, burning days of brilliant sun in poetry, prose, photos and old prints. Impressions by Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, lord Byron, Samuel Johnson, Lady Johnson's letters to Disraeli and Queen Victoria's journals.

The Story of Scotland If you want a place to start in understanding Scottish history, you've found it. This account covers the ancient Picts through modern times, all in a personal and interesting way. Once you read this book, you will find yourself doing more research and searching for more detailed accounts.

In the Footsteps of William Wallace There have been many books written on William Wallace and all provide a look into the history of Scotlands greatest hero "In the Footsteps of William Wallace" is one of the best. Each part of the life of William Wallace and the history of the "Wars of Independence" are described and images are provided in related photographs and maps...a most excellent book for those with an interest in this great hero!!

The Quest for the Nine Maidens by Stuart McHardy.
In this ground-breaking new work the author investigates the ancient sisterhood of pagan priestesses the Picts called the Nine Maidens. Shape-shifters,healers and prophetesses the Nine Maidens were closely linked to significant goddesses and gods in many societies around the world. Whether as Valkyries taking dead Vikings to Valhalla, as Morgan and her sisters convoying king Arthur to Avalon, as the keepers of Cerrridwen's Cauldron of Poetry and Inspiration, as the ecstatic Maenads and Muses of Greece, as the Druidesses of the Isle de Sein off Brittany, time and again these enigmatic sisterhoods crop up myth and legend. In some cases, as the Witches of Caer Lyow or the sisterhood of Mont Dol in Brittany they were clearly female warriors while in Dark Age Scotland amongst the Picts, they were thought of as saints. In Brittany, Scotland and Wales they were associated with ancient mother goddess figures and in Iceland they travelled around giving prophecies as late as 1000BC. In Scotland, Nine Maidens Wells continued to be the focus of Beltane festivities into the twentieth century. The oldest reference to the is a cave painting showing nine women dancing round a priapic male in some kind fertility rite - from over 15000 years ago. Other groups of them come form shamanistic belief in Siberia, founding mythology in Kenya and in the beliefs of Amerindian peoples. Whether the remnants of a once universal belief system or local developments of some archetypal human thought the Nine Maidens widespread existence tells us there is much more still to be known abut the human past. Most of the history of our species has been written by men, for men and about men - the worldwide stories of the Nine Maidens suggest there is more, much - much more -to learn of o the human story.

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