Posts Tagged ‘reviews’
A hugely amusing collection of tales from a Scottish vet
As a child, on long car journeys, my dad would often play talking book versions of the works of James Herriot. From an early age, I was taken by tales of the life of a vet, from the more difficult to the lighter side of life, and, of course, Only Creatures Great And Small was…
Read MoreA fascinating tale packed with gripping twists and turns
The ever witty Catriona McPherson has outdone herself in the latest instalment of the Dandy Gilver adventures. Set in Dundee, The Mirror Dance follows the private investigator as she helps solve a copyright dispute involving a travelling puppeteer and a local publishing house. However, like most detective series, all is not as simple as it…
Read MoreA life on the hills is a fascinating chronicle
It isn’t very often you see books documenting a life spent on the hills. But in Sixty Glorious Seasons: The Memoirs of Finlay Mackintosh, a Badenoch Stalker 1883-1966, we learn the subject certainly lived a fascinating life. His time working in Badenoch as a stalker is inspiring, especially for those who know the area themselves.…
Read MoreThe noble Scottish family who had it all – and lost it
The debut book by television producer Simon Welfare depicts the fascinating lives of John and Ishbel Gordon, the Marquess and Marchioness of Aberdeen. The couple aimed to change the world with their passion for philanthropic endeavours and social reform. However, they ended up losing their fortune after years of generosity. As the couple were the…
Read MoreA fascinating read that will keep you smiling
Despite what you might think, Your Inner Hedgehog is not a story about hedgehogs. Instead, it follows the story of the hilarious German professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld as he navigates life at his workplace, the University of Regensburg. Written by the best-selling author of The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith, this is…
Read MoreThe fascinating secrets we all carry in our bones
Think medical chat is dry? Never want to be seated next to a doctor at a dinner party? Swap those name places back and think again. From the renowned forensic anthropologist Sue Black comes a remarkable culmination of stories told by our bones. Skeletons may mark the absence of life, but Black turns this on…
Read MoreMaps are the forgotten weapons of war
The basis of A History of the Second World War In 100 Maps is that maps are ‘indispensable instruments of war’. If anyone can convince us of this it is world-leading military and cartographic historian Jeremy Black, who has studied a huge range of maps from the Second World War in minute detail. In this…
Read MoreDiscover life in the Granite City in wartime
A comprehensive historical treasure chest is what awaits in Craig Armstrong’s Aberdeen at War 1939-45. Black and white photographs are interspersed with detailed explanations of life in Aberdeen during World War Two. This is an interesting read for anyone from the north east. Armstrong successfully transports readers back in time in this poignant ode to…
Read MoreBlasted Things is more than a historical novel
The 16th novel from award-winning Edinburgh author Lesley Glaister, Blasted Things deserves to be read by all. Set just after World War One, not only are we expertly transported to a different era, but the characters we meet along the way are both alluring and peculiar, as is her genre. Blasted Things straddles the categories…
Read MoreA strange tale which will have you gripped
From an author whose favourite TV shows include Twin Peaks, it is no surprise that Happiness is Wasted on Me is a strange book. But, it is an undoubted page turner at same time. Spanning a decade of 11-year-old Walter Wedgeworth’s life around Cumbernauld in the 1990s, the setting harks back to a time long…
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