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In this new Selected Poems, Kathleen Jamie explores the multi-faceted world of George Mackay Brown's Orkney, the poet's lifelong home and inspiration. George Mackay Brown's concerns were the ancestral world, the communalities of work, the fables and religious stories which he saw as underpinning mortal lives. Brown believed from the outset that poets had a social role and his true task was to fulfil that role. This is not the attitude of a shrinking violet, tentatively exploring his 'voice'. Art was sprung from the community, and his role as poet to know that community, to sing its stories. But there was also room for introspection; the poet's task was simultaneously to 'interrogate silence'.

George Mackay Brown was a master of the short story form and produced a steady stream of short fiction collections, starting with A Calendar of Love (1967) and include A Time to Keep (1969) and Hawkfall (1974), as well as his poetry collections and novels. In this selection, edited and introduced by Malachy Tallack, we explore the author's Orkney and the ups and downs of the crofters and fishermen there. These magical stories, drawn from ancient lore and modern life, strip life down to the essentials.

The first full, modern history of the Jacobite cause in its entirety as it played out in Scotland, England, Ireland, Europe and even America

A dystopian masterpiece, 1984 is the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century. This edition has a new, specially commissioned introduction by Alex Massie which recognises the importance that Barnhill, Orwell's home on the Island of Jura, had on the writing of this classic.

Just Go Down to the Road is the riveting story of the moral and literary education of a man who was a total failure at school but went on to become a distinguished author and journalist.

Known by mariners since Viking times as a safe anchorage in notoriously savage waters, Scapa Flow is the seaway that runs between the Orkney mainland and the island of Hoy. As the northern base of the Royal Navy and Allied fleets in two world wars, it witnessed some of the most seminal events in modern naval history. It was from here that The Grand Fleet set off in 1916 to do battle at Jutland; it was from that Lord Kitchener sailed to his death aboard the Hampshire; it was here that the surrendered German fleet was scuttled in May 1919; and it was here that 800 sailors lost their lives in October 1939 when HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by a German submarine.The late W.S. Hewison's book is the ultimate history of this remarkable place. In addition to the military story, he also tells about the impact war had on the native island community as their remote archipelago was transformed into the hub of Britain's naval war machine.

The Man Who Gave Away His Island

In this hugely enlightening book, Carol Foreman investigates the origins of many of Glasgow's street names, examining the influences and inspirations for many of the city's most famous thoroughfares, from local association and sentimentality to the influence of royalty, distinguished individuals and historical events.

The Forth Bridge was the greatest engineering feat the Victorian world had ever seen and remains, to this day, one of the great achievements of mankind. The Forth Bridge: A Picture History, tells the dramatic story of its construction using rare archive photographs.

This fascinating and comprehensive account of St Andrews traces its history from Pictish times to the present day. It is based not only on a huge amount of original research, but also on an intimate knowledge of the town which Raymond Lamont-Brown accumulated in over twenty years' residence there.

It's December 1967, and the town of Kinloch is cut off by heavy snow. With all roads closed, the only way to feed and water the townsfolk is for the fishing fleet to sail to Girvan for much needed supplies. The crew of the Girl Maggie embark upon a trip like no other, encountering ghostly Vikings, gigantic crustaceans and a helpful seagull.

The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals per game than any World Cup since. Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the tournament, from the preparations to the final, telling a host of remarkable stories in the players' own words.

Scotland's plants define its landscape - from the heather moorlands of its iconic habitats to the weeds and a garden plants of its towns and cities. Plants have shaped the country's domestic economy and culture over centuries, providing resources for agriculture and industry as well as food, drink and medicines. They have even inspired children's games and been used as components in magical charmsDrawing together traditional knowledge from archives and oral histories with the work of some of the country's finest botanical artists, this book is a magnificent celebration of the enormous wealth of Scottish plant lore.

A new guide, layed out as a flavour map of whisky designed to help navigate by taste and find the next step on your whisky journey, brought to life by the creator of the WineTubeMap, Nikki Welch in collaboration with Blair Bowman

An exquisite retelling of a well-known traditional tale by one of Scotland's most well-known songwriters and storytellers and illustrated by an artist renowned for her paintings of animals - both real and mythical.

Let your children discover all of the most iconic Scottish animals with this remarkable magic painting book! Discover the majestic red deer, playful otter and the amazing Highland cow with the magic paint brush! Go on a journey through all the animals, big and small, in this exquisite and stimulating book that will entertain children of all ages.

The biography of golf's first true superstar who revolutionised the game, despite his tragic death at just 24 years of age.

Cassius X is the remarkable story of the transformation of Cassius Clay into global icon Muhammad Ali, pivoting on the year that he converted to Islam under the guidance of Malcolm X and prepared for his title fight against ex-convict Sonny Liston.

In the seventies and eighties, The Lost Poets - Ron Butlin, Andrew Greig, Liz Lochhead and Brian McCabe, with musician James Hutcheson - were Scotland's reply to the Liverpool Poets. For many years they were regulars on the Edinburgh Fringe and elsewhere. With their unique blend of poetry and music they proved to be an inspiration for much of today's spoken-word movement. Each of them went on to highly successful careers as novelists, playwrights and visual artists, as well as continuing to publish poetry. This collection celebrates The Lost Poets' work and contains new as well as previously published work

Edge of Empire is a comprehensive and fascinating study of the Roman Empire's northernmost frontier barrier, covering the invasion, the construction, the occupation and final abandonment of the Antonine Wall. Illustrated throughout with stunning photography from David Henrie of Historic Scotland.

Pipers takes the reader inside the world of the performer community of Scottish piping, introducing the instrument itself and the various different repertories.

The Bruces of fourteenth-century Scotland were formidable and enthusiastic warriors. Packed with detail and written with a strong and involving narrative thread, this is the first book to link up the various theatres of war and discuss the effect of the wars of the Bruces outside Scotland.

The story of tea is extraordinary - it caused wars, boosted the trade in slaves and hard drugs, and it's no exaggeration to say it was one of the great engines that drove the globalisation of the world economy. In this book award-winning author Les Wilson tells the dramatic and colourful story of how Scots brought tea to Britain and made it our national drink.

Voted Culture NL's Book of the Year for 2020

A long-forgotten promise made by Richard Hannay finds him honour-bound to resolve a violent vendetta in which the lives of a young father and his daughter are in danger from desperate men. Hannay sets out on a high-octane chase from the rural tranquillity of his English manor to the Scottish Borders and, ultimately, to Scandinavia.

A perfect summer read for crime fans, this thriller is set on Spain's Costa Blanca with a colourful cast of double-crossing characters. It's a criminally good cocktail of sun, crime, escapism and dark humour.

Bramble the cow lives on an old farm where she has lots of friends. But she has a problem - she hates loud noises! She doesn't like the buzzing of bees, or the sound of the wind during a storm, or the farmer's combine harvester. And she doesn't like the rain. One night, after a heavy storm, the river floods.