Highlanders: A History of the Gaels [Paperback]

John Macleod (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997

A history of the isles and glens of the Highlands of Scotland. Starting from a journey north to the author's home in the Western Isles, this book is a tour of the past, great and sad, of the Gaels of Scotland, and through the realities of the present.

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340639911
• ISBN-13: 978-0340639917
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > History > Europe > Scotland

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much interesting information..., February 8, 2002

By 

Just-a-girl "abc-survivors.net" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highlanders: A History of the Gaels (Paperback)

After reading Tranter's "Story of Scotland," I was ready to delve deeper into Scotland's history. This work fills in many of the blanks, and does so in a way that holds my interest. There was much that I had missed, including a true grasp of the Viking culture and how it affected Scotland. I knew very little of the way the clan system worked in the isles, and how the Crown tried to control them. MacLeod explains with insight why some of the clans virtually disappeared, and others flourished. I also didn't realize that the Isle of Lewis had been almost entirely destroyed and burned. Some events that are simply alluded to in other books are explained here, so that I feel my grasp of the history has truly been improved. A highly recommended read!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Introduction To Scottish History, August 24, 2000

By 

D.A.Knight (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highlanders: A History of the Gaels (Paperback)

This is what you might call `a popular history' in that, the facts are there, but so is the author's commentary. The author obviously meant to cover a lot of ground, fully intending his work not to be exhaustive, but a personable introduction to the history of Scotland. This is an excellant introductory work which will serve every reader as a primer for further, specialized study. A bit of bias with some topics, is here, very welcome: a Scot writing of Scotland can't be anything but bias. He provides an enlightening view on the Celtic Church and St. Columba. There is an excellant chapter dealing mostly with the vikings. Of course he talks about Bonnie Prince Charlie, Burns, and obvious figures of note.

The style of his prose is most powerful when talking about the Clearances... and Sutherland. His later chapters dealing with all the complicated goings on of the churches in Scotland was at times illuminating, and even a bit humorous. I learned more on those matters in Highlanders, than anywhere else. His exploration of recent Scottish culture in the last century was the crown of the book: everything from the hopeful renewal of Gaelic culture to the story of "Whiskey Galore" (the tragic event, the book, AND the movie).

Throughout the book there are maps of the different parts of Scotland being discussed, excerpts from popular folk songs, and even a reproduction (albeit in black and white) of "Poet's Pub" I have read this book, in whole, and in part, so often in the last year or so, that the spine is near broke. I rate it- a high five. We ride!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly recommended history of the highlanders., December 31, 1999

By 

K. Anderson (Duluth, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Highlanders: A History of the Gaels (Paperback)

My wife read this book aloud to me and my two children during a driving tour of the Highlands last year. It completely changed my perspective on the landscape I was driving through and helped me understand how the Highlands have been ravaged by human hands from the Vikings onward. I saw the beautiful but desolate land in a completely different light. His portraits of historical personages obliterated the false and somewhat romantic image we have of the Highlands and left us with a more honest and ultimately more satisfying picture of the people. It is not a historical text and I don't think that's what he intended to write. It is, however, immensely readable, entertaining and the perfect book to accompany a drive through this magnificent country. I recently met two people planning a driving trip through the Highlands and recommended it without reservation, and I would do the same to anyone looking for an honest and enjoyable history of the Highlands and its people.