This is a compendium of photographs, stories, traditions and songs, it is an introduction to the world of the Gael and a memorial to a world now largely disappeared. It presents the rich tapestry of Gaelic life and culture in the words of the people who lived in and through that culture.

In 1938 John Lorne Campbell bought the Hebridean isle of Canna. He wanted to prevent it becoming a rich man's playground (like so many other islands and Highland estates), to preserve a part of traditional Gaelic culture and show that efficient farming methods could be compatible with wildlife conservation and sustainability. But his determination to get the island left him burdened by debt, and even after he gave it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981 he still had to fight to secure his legacy. This acclaimed book is an insightful and human portrait of one of the twentieth century's most significant scholars of the Gaelic world, and of his 60-year partnership with Margaret Fay Shaw, who together created the world-famous library of Gaelic song and other material at Canna House.

Join us by the fireside of a legendary guesthouse in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, where fly fishermen gather each evening to tell stories of their exploits. Tales from The Angler's Retreat reveals a world of amiable obsession, as people from many backgrounds - united by fishing, companionship and the unusual beauty of the island of South Uist - take turns to tell their stories. Some tales may be tall. Many involve mishaps. Some are hilarious, others wistful. Together they offer unexpected insight into fishing, Scottish islands and how men behave when practising their passion.

In the Clearances of the 19th century, crofts - once the mainstay of Highland life in Scotland - were swept away as the land was put over to sheep grazing. Many of the people of the Highlands and islands of Scotland were forced from their homes by landowners in the Clearances. Some fled to Nova Scotia and beyond. David Craig sets out to discover how many of their stories survive in the memories of their descendants. He travels through 21 islands in Scotland and Canada, many thousands of miles of moor and glen, and presents the words of men and women of both countries as they recount the suffering of their forbears.

This is an extraordinary collection of tales from one of the very greatest Gaelic storytellers, Angus MacLellan, and translated by one of Scotland's finest Celtic Scholars, John Lorne Campbell. The stories in the book include every type of tale found on South Uist, from Fingalian heroes and ghost stories to international folktales and humorous and historical local anecdotes. These tales of ancient kings, thrilling escapes, jealous stepmothers and magic spells are fascinating not only for their narrative power, but also their links with myths and legends from Ireland, Scandinavia, France and Greece. The Hebrideaen island of South Uist was one of the last places in Western Europe where the ancient art of Storytelling was still honoured and practised, and the style of these translations is at once original and hypnotic, reflecting the oral tradition at their source.

The Hebrides of Scotland – around 500 diverse islands – form the north-western Atlantic fringe of Europe. This book surveys the cultural landscape of this dramatically beautiful, complex and conflicted area, with emphasis on what may be interpreted through aerial photography. Mobile maritime cultures flourished throughout the Hebrides from prehistoric times, including Mesolithic builders of wheelhouses, coracle-borne monastic travelers, Norse in longships and Lords of the Isles in birlinns. A prominent feature of the recent history of the Hebrides has been depopulation. The history and heartbreak of this phenomenon, experienced in differing degrees in rural areas throughout Europe from the mid-18th century, is clearly shown in aerial photographs and discussed by co-authors Angus and Patricia Macdonald. Today's Hebridean landscapes have been heavily modified by various forms of human land use; current land-management options and controversies are also explored in the context of photographs that draw attention to the various issues involved.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1862.

Archaeology and history of South Uist.