The Book of the Bagpipe (Hardcover)

by Hugh Cheape (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Book of the Bagpipe relates the evolution of the bagpipe from the reeded pipes of ancient civilizations to its present-day position as a Scottish cultural icon, an evocative emblem of Celtic heritage, and a legitimate musical instrument. Delightfully illustrated with photographs, engravings, and color paintings of pipes and pipers through the ages, this book makes an ideal gift for anyone with an interest in Celtic music and history.

About the Author

Hugh Cheape is curator of the Museum of Scotland and founder of the world's only bagpipe museum, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809296802
• ISBN-13: 978-0809296804
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #998,699 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Read!, December 25, 2000

By	Jonathan Scott Speegle (Waco, TX USA) - See all my reviews

If you're a piper, Irish, Scottish, or just love the Celtic culture, "The Book of the Bagpipe" is a great book to own! It's full of information about the history of the great Highland bagpipes, bagpipe music, and bagpipers. This book also contains information on other types of bagpipes, but keeps the Highland bagpipe as it's main focus. The pictures and illustrations in "The Book of the Bagpipe" are excellent, a great portrayal of Celtic culture. The bibliography can be found at the back of the book, and the resources are absolutely amazing. Overall, "The Book of the Bagpipe" is full of great poetry and pictures and is put together by Hugh Cheape in such a delightful manner that I rate it as one fantastic read!

*Tiffany*

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, October 16, 2000

By A Customer

This pretty, little gem of a book is a great gift for the piper or Scot-o-file in your family, especially if that person is you. Cheape delivers a basic FAQ on pipes and piping, but it's the lavish illustrations that make the book special. Cheape gives ample space to pipes from other parts of the world besides the British Isles. If you ever visit Glasgow, Scotland, visit the museum at the Piping Centre. Cheape designed and installed this museum.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too short, too highly rated, too many pictures, not enough research, August 15, 2008

By	Scott C. Locklin "Selectos nisi das mihi libe... (Berkeley CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I went through considerable trouble to acquire this book, based on the good reviews it garnered here, and the references to it I've read in other places. First off: this book is miniscule. I didn't notice that it was listed as 80 pages when I ordered it, but it isn't even really that. It is a 20-page essay, well salted with pictures, printed in a tiny format, and the first 10 pages contain no text! If it was in a standard picture book coffee table format ... it might come out as 40 pages if they made the first 10 blank as they did in this book.
The text, what there is of it: the assertions in the book are pretty free and breezy. They're also not very deep into the folklore of piping. I'd complain that he doesn't delve deeply enough into the Scottish folklore of piping, but he doesn't delve deeply into any folklore of piping. I've learned more piping folklore looking at a bottle of scotch than I did from reading this book.
I give the book a star, as the paintings and engravings he chose to include were actually rather nice. Not nice enough to justify owning the thing. Especially in the tiny format it was printed in.