[.ca] Highlanders: A History of the Gaels (ISBN 0340639911)

Where did we go wrong?:
Thoroughly readable history of our people - but very little on the diaspora. This book however does deal with contemporary Highland society, so if you're only interested in a sentimental look at the past, you can still enjoy the majority of this book

So much interesting information...:
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!

Long memories and Great Grudges:
I won't wax lirical about this work as it does not need it. It is a popular history of the Highlands of Scotland and entertains easily - MacLeod's style is good. Essentially the book is in 3 or 4 sections. The first section deals with the Scots prior to the adventure of The Bruce and the victory over the english at BannockBurn - I especially enjoyed the information about the Celtic church - the original gaelic (Irish and Scots) church - which was not Roman Catholic in litergy or theology. The second period deals with the solidification of clan society within the ever increasing feudal influences of the south - Land for example used to belong to the whole Clan - not the Chief - until norman influence - brought in by The Bruce and others changed the society. The third period deals with the folly of the Stuarts and the twin outcomes of emerging captialism and english atrocities against Scots - in particular Highlanders. Macleod has written another book dealing with the whole stuart family and I recommend that to anyone. Now the track of the book changes and we are only half way through - the rest - or it seems to be the rest deals with the role of the church in Scotland - and to understand the Presbyterian Kirk is to understand Scotland. In order to do this Macleod retraces some of his previous chapters and now comments through the trained eyes of a Preachers Son - and he does a fine job of it as well. The maps are okay - the Gaelic comments throughout the book however could have be dealt with a glossary - the index is fine as well. All in all for an introduction to Scottish Highland culture you need to read a period of some 1500 years and in 350 pages of so you canna go past this tome. Aye we have long memories and hold great grudges !

Islanders - A History of the Northern Hebrides:
The author does give a good background on the Highlands in general in the early part of the book, but his focus is really on Lewis/Harris for the most part. This is a very personal popular history. There are good points and bad in that. The reader gets in-depth information about some cultural/local things that are probably not covered as well anywhere else (ie the Presbyterian factions vying for control of the souls of Northern Islanders). If these kinds of things do not stir you, you may be a little disappointed. I found some of this interesting. I was particularly moved by the story of the wreck of the Iolaire. I don't suppose it is a story that one would run across anywhere else. As a good introduction to some of the larger issues, it serves well. The first part of the book is a good review of the various peoples and cultures that made up the Highlands. The crofting culture and the Clearances are treated well and the reader is pointed toward authors who can go into these subjects in greater depth ( ie James Hunter). One very frustrating (for me) habit of the author is to quote other sources (Paul Johnson, John Prebble) without citing the work it is taken from either in the body of the text, in notes or even in the bibliography. The author admits that he has "a strong bias towards traditional Highland Presbyterianism, and a corresponding disdain for rites Roman and Anglican." Those who wince at Catholics being called "Papists" and Catholicism generally ignored or disparaged, might do well to look elsewhere. The author does not mention, even in passing, the Penal Laws against Catholics, whereby practicing Catholicism became a treasonable offense (the first offense meant confiscation of all property, the second, banishment and the third, death) are not mentioned at all. This pogrom against Catholics in the 17th and 18th centuries is why Evangelicals in the 19th century could come in to fill a religious vacuum. I recommend this book, but would urge that it not be the only work you read on the Highlands. John Prebble's books are great reading. I have thoroughly enjoyed his accounts of Glencoe and Culloden. I continue to look for an overview of the Highlands and Islands that is more scholarly and balanced.

An easy read, but loses interest in the latter half:
This book covers over 1000 years of history in the Highlands region of Scotland. As is implied by the title, this is a people's history - there is no geological/natural history of the Highlands, except where the land has been used/altered by man. The first portions of the book are fascinating, detailing the early immigration to the west coast and islands of Scotland, the coming of missionaries, Vikings, the union of Scotland under one crown in Edinburgh, and, of course, the uprising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Unfortunately, I found myself losing interest in the latter half of the book, with its heavy focus on church squabbling. While undoubtedly of importance in understanding the "Highlands Problem," it could have been dealt with in a more expedient manner, without the enumeration of every schism that occurred. The title is perhaps mileading. It is, in fact, a history of the people in the Highlands (and those in England, Norway, etc. that directly affected the Highlanders). Therefore, the book focusses on the people of this area of Scotland, while essentially ignoring the history of the people who immigrated there in the first place (from Ireland, Scandenavia, etc.), or the people that emigrated (to Canada, Australia, etc.) from the Highlands in later years. The author even points out that early in the 1900's, there were four times the number of Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia than there were in the Highlands - surely some stories of these pioneers deserve treatment in the book titled "A History of the Gaels." Finally, the maps are woefully inadequate. There are some political maps, but they do not include the locations of many of the towns mentioned in the narrative, and virtually none of the castles. Further, they are scattered throughout the book with no reference to them in the text, further adding to the difficulty in referencing them. The strength of the book is certainly the readability. The first half is fantastic. The second half is only okay, as it seems to belabour certain issues to the point where the reader loses interest. It's certainly an adequate (and modern - published in 1997) entry for anyone interested in the history of the Highlands' peoples, with enough details to further educate those with a more intimate knowledge of the Highlands.