Overcoming her grief in the mountains

This beautifully candid memoir follows the life of Munroist, Sarah Jane Douglas, and her battle with grief. After losing her mother to cancer, Douglas finds solace in climbing Scotland’s forbidding mountains. A heart-wrenching read, it is testament to the cathartic nature of the wilderness. True stories do not always see the ‘happily ever after’ ending,…

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A fascinating insight into museums’ model ship collection

On the back of the success of Glasgow Museums’ ship model collection, they have created this extraordinary coffee table book. Taking a decade to compile, it covers all 676 ship models produced by Clyde shipyards and Glasgow-based ship owners. Ranging from the majestic RMS Queen Mary and famous Royal Navy battleship HMS Hood to the…

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Historical adventures after Culloden

I’m normally a fan of historical novels so Son of a Jacobite sounded right up my street. Beginning at Culloden in 1746, Thomas Lovat enters the world on the same day that his father is killed in action. Inspired by the author’s family heritage to the Clan Fraser of Lovat, the novel takes its protagonist…

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The perfect book for Scottish lighthouse fans

If, like Sarah Kerr, you are an avid pharologist (the technical term for lighthouse enthusiasts) then this guide is the perfect purchase for you. It’s the only one of its kind to provide a comprehensive listing of more than 600 lighthouses in Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. The…

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Charting Scotland’s long history through verse

An anthology of poetry charting Scotland’s journey through the high and low points of its history using the medium of verse. This unique poetic saunter through the centuries also includes a useful little explanation of the background and the events that led to the penning of each poem. This book is the perfect way to…

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World War I – as seen first hand in the trenches

Mud and Bodies is a fascinating collection of letters and extracts from the war diaries of Captain NAC Weir during the period 1914-1920. The diaries were found by his grandson shortly after his death and provide a first-hand account of the life of a young soldier on the Western Front during WW1. It includes an…

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Celebrating the capital in words and pictures

Edinburgh means different things to many people. In this book, the product of a collaboration between photographer Allan Wright and poet Gerda Stevenson, the interaction of their dual perspectives on the capital makes for a different take on the traditional Edinburgh coffee table book. Eighty-seven photographs are accompanied by 22 new poems, some in Scots,…

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A delicious book to awaken the tastebuds

Mezze – Small Plates to Share is a delightfully appetising recipe book. It explores the taste of the Middle East and the Mediterranean through a vast selection of scrumptious mezze dishes, made from fresh and healthy ingredients which can be enjoyed at any time of the day. This vibrant book, which features beautiful photography by Jan Baldwin,…

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Taking a look at golf in unexpected places

From the hills of Northumberland, through Border Reiver country and up to Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, the journey taken in this book explores the possibilities for playing golf in remote, beautiful and unexpected places. This ideal golfer’s guide showcases a selection of nine-hole courses in spectacular settings in a book that is sure to go…

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How a Scotsman took cricket to South Africa

In 1877, young Scotsman James Douglas Logan emigrated to South Africa. Within a few years he had made his fortune through business, politics and his association with the most favoured of imperial pastimes – cricket. This is the fascinating story of how Logan, the son of a Borders railwayman, was instrumental in the development of…

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