Customer Reviews

Living in the Highlands

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This is a quality piece of work from Thames & Hudson -- cloth over hardback boards with a blindstamped insignia on the front, sewn binding, 168 pp, color illustrations throughout on nice stock.

I also like "coffee table books" that aren't ostentatiously monstrous in size. This one seems just right to me -- a square book, 2 1/2 pounds, and easy to handle.

This is a book I look at over and over again. The photos are breathtaking and the text includes both the history and current information about each area. They did a good job of including photos of the house interiors and the beautiful Scottish landscape.

My son and I loved reading this book. The book is not only filled with breathtaking photography, but it covers a variety of details about everyday society and life.

"Living in the Highlands" is not the standard tourist book, although its lavish coffee table book-sized format is certainly attractive enough to entice visitors. Nor is it a history of Scotland, although aspects of Scottish history are reflected in its pages. Authors Lesley Astaire and Roddy Martine, ably assisted by photographer Eric Ellington, have sought instead to capture the better aspects of living in the Scottish Highlands, from its magnificent scenery to its distinctive cuisine and adaptive architecture, and finally to its unique heritage, melded over centuries.

Most of the 21 chapters of the book are photo-essay visits to castles and private homes in the Scottish Highlands, but one section concerns living on a sailboat, another examines life in a Benedictine priory, and a third discusses a Burns Night celebration. The photography is excellent, whether of the rugged Highland terrain or the interior details of a well-preserved castle or of well-kept farmland in the Vale of Atholl. The narrative is informative and includes interviews with house owners, who explain the attractions of living in a remote but wild and beautiful land.

"Living in the Highlands" is highly recommended to those readers with an interest in how the modern Highland culture has been translated into individual examples of fine living.