Birlinn general edinburgh (Más de 2200 resultados)

Paperback. Condición: new. Paperback. This is the charming and poignant account of twenty-five years spent in Orkney. After her marriage to an islander, Christine Muir went to live on the tiny island of North Ronaldsay, where she and her husband brought up their four children and ran a small croft.Following the seasons though the year, Orkney Days is full of observations of the natural world at their doorstep. Beautiful descriptions of the island and its flora and fauna from wildflowers and medicinal herbs to seals and seabirds are mingled with memories of a young family growing up and the rhythms of daily life far from the bustle of the modern world. There is much too about the work involved in running their croft and the cattle and sheep that are its mainstay, about the traditions and lore of the island which stretch back over countless generations, and about the modern developments which changed it forever. This is the poignant account of twenty-five years spent in Orkney. After her marriage to an islander, Christine Muir went to live on the tiny island of North Ronaldsay, where she and her husband brought up their four children and ran a small croft. Her story is a beautifully observed record of life on one of Britains northernmost islands. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. At the bottom of a sharply descending street in the topographical sense in Edinburghs Georgian New Town, new residents have moved in to number 44 Scotland Street, joining the already well-known and much-loved denizens of that remarkable building. They appear to be a bit of a mystery, but so, too, do other things. What exactly did Sister Maria-Fiore, the aphorism-coining socialite nun, find on the No. 23 bus? Could it be the remains of a hitherto unknown Neanderthal, homo Watsoniensis? On the romantic front, long-suffering Stuarts hopes of kindling a new relationship are dashed, thanks to chino-wearing narcissist Bruce, effortlessly exercising his powers of charm. The Promised Land beckons for Bertie who is off to Glasgow for a school exchange that takes him doon the watter. Back in Edinburgh, the Duke of Johannesburgs desire to learn a new language, involving his Gaelic-speaking driver Padruig, has gone horribly wrong; to be immersed in a language, it seems, can be a captivating linguistic mistake. And the patrons of Big Lous cafe are in for a gastronomic treat. In other words, everything in Edinburgh is absolutely normal. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. After distinguished service in the First World War, Richard Hannay settles into peaceful domesticity with his wife Mary and their young son. However, news comes to him of three kidnappings. With no more than a few tantalisingly cryptic lines of verse as clues, he is soon on the trail of Dominick Medina a charismatic polymath but a man utterly and consumedly wicked. As Hannay uncovers an international plot to twist innocent minds through hypnotism and blackmail, it appears that he has met his match in one of Buchans most memorable villains. With an introduction by Christopher Hitchens. This edition is authorised by the John Buchan Society. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Julia Win, a successful Manhattan lawyer, is at a crossroads in her life. Despite her wealth and privilege, she is exhausted and unhappy a lost soul. She returns to Burma, the homeland of her father, where she encounters an anguished mother whose life is shattered when her two sons are called up from their rural village to fight in Burmas civil war. Both women embark on their own journeys of self-discovery, experiencing heartbreak, horror, love and, ultimately, redemption. This mesmerising novel explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain of all: the human heart. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. A Scots Quair is revolutionary - innovative in its form, deft and humorous in its use of the Scots language, courageous in its characterisation and politics. Central to the trilogy is Chris Guthrie, one of the most remarkable female characters in modern literature. InSunset song, Gibbon's finest achievement, the reader follows Chris through her girlhood in a tight-knit Scottish farming community: the seasons, the weddings, the funerals, the grind of work, the gossip. As the Great War takes its toll, machines repalce the old way of life. Cloud HoweandGrey Granite take Chris from her rural homeland to life in an industrial Scotland and the desperate years of the Depression. The triology as a whole is a major achievment, a picture of society undergoing traumatic and far-reaching transformation. Always readable, never sentimental,A Scots Quair is one of the most important works of Scottish literature. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. …

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. In 1889 Frederick Rea arrived from the Midlands to teach in South Uist, at that time one of the poorest places in the Outer Hebrides. Roads were often no more than rough tracks across the mountain moorland or over the storm-swept machair, and his Gaelic-speaking pupils were often frozen and starving. In this extraordinary book, he recounts the years he spent in this remote corner of Scotland, where he was welcomed with uncommon kindness and generosity by the islanders, who found him to be a sincere, conscientious man and an excellent teacher. The book also reveals Rea's keen powers of observation as he describes the lonely, ruggedly beautiful landscape and the customs and lifestyle of the people. Frederick Rea treasured his memories of South Uist for the rest of his life, and his love and respect for the islands and islanders is wonderfully conveyed in this vivid testament. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. For nearly forty years John Wilson travelled the length and breadth of Scotland as a school inspector. From orkney to campbeltown and Jura to Dundee, he visited hundreds of schools and met thousands of teachers and pupils. In these memoirs, first published in 1928, he paints an insightful yet humorous picture of life in the countrys schools after the 1872 education Act, which brought free schooling for all Scottish children between the ages of five and ten. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. …

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. The Translatoris a story about love, both human and divine. Sammar is a young Sudanese widow, working as an Arabic translator at a British university. Following the sudden death of her husband and estrangement from her young son, she drifts grieving and isolated. Life takes a positive turn when she finds herself falling in love with Rae, a Scottish academic. To Sammar, he seems to come from another world and another culture, yet they are drawn to each other. 'Aboulela is a wonderfully poetic writer . It is a pleasure to read a novel so full of feeling and yet so serene'The Guardian. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. …

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Longlisted for McIlvanneyScottish Crime Book of the Year In 1752, Seamus aGhlynne, James of the Glen, was executed for the murder of government man Colin Campbell. He was almost certainly innocent. When banners are placed at his gravesite claiming that his namesake, James Stewart, is innocent of murder, reporter Rebecca Connolly smells a story. The young Stewart has been in prison for ten years for the brutal murder of his lover, lawyer and politician Murdo Maxwell, in his Appin home. Rebecca soon discovers that Maxwell believed he was being followed prior to his murder and his phones were tapped. Why is a Glasgow crime boss so interested in the case? As Rebecca keeps digging, she finds herself in the sights of Inverness crime matriarch Mo Burke, who wants payback for the damage caused to her family in a previous case. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, A Rattle of Bonesis a tale of injustice and mystery, and the echo of the past in the present. 'An intriguing Highland mystery peopled with quirky characters and peppered with wit' -TimesCrime Club, Pick of the Week '[a] compelling thriller, laced with dark humour' -Sunday Post. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. …

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. This is the intimate and revealing autobiography of the late Margaret Rhodes, the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and the niece of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Margaret was born into the Scottish aristocracy, into a now almost vanished world of privilege. Royalty often came to stay and her house was run in the style of Downton Abbey. In the Second World War years she 'lodged' at Buckingham Palace while she worked for MI5. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin, Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip. Three years later the King and Queen attended her own wedding; Princess Margaret was a bridesmaid. In 1990 she was appointed as a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen Mother, acting also as her companion, which she describes in touching detail. In the early months of 2002, she spent as much time as possible with her ailing aunt, and was at her bedside when she died at Easter that year. The next morning she went to Queen Elizabeth's bedroom to pray, and in farewell dropped her a final curtsey. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. …

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. GANGLAND BOSS ZANDER FINN DISAPPEARED AFTER THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HIS SON. He fled to London, seeking salvation by walking away from his money, his career and his legacy. But when his old second-in-command Malky Maloney tracks him down, Finn knows he must return. Both his real family and his crime family face an existential threat from Albanian mobsters hellbent on taking control of the Scottish underworld and the forces of law and order determined to inflict their own retribution. Finns fight for survival is a rollercoaster ride of brutality, misplaced loyalties and the utterly unexpected. The road to redemption is perilous and paved with blood. . The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. In 1998-99, Manchester United won the Premier League, the FA Cup and Champions League the only English team ever to accomplish such a feat. Whether that makes it the finest of all time is open to debate, but what is not is the status of the season: it featured astounding football, exceptional competition, staggering determination, ceaseless tension, astonishing plot twists, and a cast of fascinating, iconic characters. The Promised Land relives these breathless moments on a month-by-month basis, taking you into the dressing room, onto the pitch and into the minds of those involved, to explain why it all worked and how it all happened with the perspective afforded by twenty years distance. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. This is the story of the last acrimonious days of the Beatles, a final chapter reconstructing for the first time the seismic events of 1969, the year that saw the band reach new highs of musical creativity and new lows of internal strife. Two years after Flower Power and the hippie idealism of the Summer of Love, the Sixties dream had perished on the vine. By 1969, violence and vindictiveness had replaced the Beatles own mantra of peace and love, and Vietnam and the Cold War had supplanted hope and optimism. And just as the decade foundered on the altar of a cold, harsh reality, so too did the Beatles. In the midst of this rancour, however, emerged the disharmony of Let It Be and the ragged genius of Abbey Road, their incredible farewell love letter to the world. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Scottish Rugby 101 is a compendium of fascinating facts, quotes, stats, stories, personalities and trivia a perfect stocking-filler for all fans of Scottish rugby. From the very first Test match in 1871 all the way through to the present day, Scottish rugbys rich history is distilled into 101 facts, stats and stories. This fun-packed volume is an instructive, if sometimes irreverent but always affectionate guide to some of the ground-breaking firsts, controversies, innovations, achievements and disasters that have taken place in the game north of the Border an entertaining crib-sheet to Scottish rugby for experts and novices alike. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. In an epic narrative, sometimes moving, sometimes astonishing, always revealing, Moffat writes an entirely new history of Britain. Instead of the usual parade of the usual suspects kings, queens, saints, warriors and the notorious this is a peoples history, a narrative made from stories only DNA can tell, which offers insights into who we are and where we come from. Based on exciting new research involving the largest sampling of DNA ever made in Britain, Alistair Moffat shows the true origins of our islands inhabitants. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Sixty-three years old and resolutely single, Bob Servant spends his days with a small number of trusted associates pursuing unlikely business opportunities, giving stern views on current affairs and 'chasing skirt'. His outlook on life is one of unbridled ambition and self-belief as he constantly battles the local 'boo boys' for the respect that he undoubtedly deserves. Bob Servant: Hero of Dundee charts the hilarious, whimsical and action-packed life-story of Bob Servant, unveiling with touching bravery, a fearless romp through a life full of incident, from his rise from a childhood of abject poverty, through a career in the merchant navy, his establishment of the largest window-cleaning round in Western Europe and his part in Dundee's infamous Cheeseburger Wars of the early 1990s, to his current standing as an 'unemployed gigolo' in Broughty Ferry. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. For over 130 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a symbol of the ethics, values and romance at the heart of rugby union. To represent the Lions is the pinnacle for every international player in Britain and Ireland, and the dream of tens of thousands of avid fans who fol-low them. A Lions tour, undertaken every four years to the southern hemisphere, is more than a series of rugby matches played out on foreign fields; it is an epic crusade where the chosen few face a succession of mental and physical chal-lenges on their way to the Test arena, where they do battle with the superpowers of the world game. Behind the Lionssees seven esteemed rugby writers delve to the very heart of what it means to be a Lion, using diaries and letters from those who pioneered the concept, to interviews with a vast array of players who have followed in their footsteps. In so doing they have uncovered the passion, pride and honour experienced when taking up the unique challenge of a Lions tour. This is a tale of heart-break and ecstasy, humour and poignancy that is at once inspirational, moving and utterly compelling. And it is the only story worth hearing: the players' own. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. With customary charm and deftness, Alexander McCall Smith gives us another installment in this popular series, now running in its eighth season in 'The Scotsman'. Anything could happen to Bertie and the gang, especially with an invitation to one of Scotland's premier jazz festivals -. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. June 1945. Hitler has triumphed, Britain is under German occupation and America cowers under the threat of nuclear attack. In the dead of night, a figure flits through the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey, searching for a hidden document he knows could change the course of history. The journal he discovers, by a young soldier, David Erskine, records an extraordinary story. When the Allies drive the Germans out of France and victory seems imminent, Erskine is in Antwerp, where he witnesses a world-changing reversal of fortune. From a high vantage point, he watches a huge mushroom cloud rise over London: an atomic bomb has been detonated by the Germans in a last desperate roll of the dice. Captor becomes captive and Erskine is held as a POW in his own land. As the brutal grip of the occupying forces tightens, he is determined to join the resistance. A daring escape leads him and his fiancee Katie on a breathless chase to the university town of St Andrews, where the Germans have established a secret research laboratory. When it becomes clear what its purpose is, David, Katie and their small, trusted band must adopt a desperate and audacious plan to thwart Nazi domination . . . The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. When the body of a man in eighteenth-century Highland dress is discovered on the site of the Battle of Culloden, journalist Rebecca Connolly takes up the story for the Chronicle. Meanwhile, a film being made about the 45 Rebellion has enraged the right-wing group Spirit of the Gael which is connected to a shadowy group called Black Dawn linked to death threats and fake anthrax deliveries to Downing Street and Holyrood. When a second body this time in the Redcoat uniform of the government army is found in Inverness, Rebecca finds herself drawn ever deeper into the mystery. Are the murders connected to politics, a local gang war or something else entirely? The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. The 1989 Tour de France is arguably the greatest ever. It saw American rider Greg LeMond overturn a 50-second deficit to France's Laurent Fignon on the final stage on the Champs Elysees to snatch the title by a mere eight seconds. After three weeks and more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, these few seconds remain the smallest margin of victory in the race's 100+ year history.But as dramatic as that Sunday afternoon on the streets of Paris was, the race wasn't just about that one time-trial. During the previous fortnight, the leader's yellow jersey had swapped back and forth between LeMond and Fignon in a titanic struggle for supremacy, a battle with more twists and turns than the maziest Alpine mountain pass. At no point during the entire three weeks were LeMond and Fignon separated by more than 53 seconds.In Three Weeks, Eight Seconds, Nige Tassell brings one of cycling's most astonishing stories to life, examining that extraordinary race in all its multi-faceted glory with fresh interviews and new perspectives and laying bare that towering heights of adrenaline, agony, excitement, torment and triumph that it produced. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Thorfinn Ragnarson is the daydreaming son of a tenant farmer, avoiding both work and school despite the best efforts of family, friends and neighbours. Instead, the boy dreams up elaborate historical fantasies of himself as a Viking traveller, a freedom-fighter for Bonnie Prince Charlie and the colleague of a Falstaffian knight who participates in the Battle of Bannockburn. He is then hurled into the future as Thor, who returns to the Orkneys as an adult and recalls his internment in a German POW camp, where he discovered his writing skills. Thor also reflects on the history of Orkney, the links between dreaming and writing and the whims of fate. In this beautiful and haunting novel, Browns lyrical descriptions and gift for local colour capture, as ever, the myth-drenched magic of his native islands. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. It's December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world's biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it has brought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home - and his descendants have been cursed ever since. When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming - but for whom and from what? The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Paul Leibovitz was once an ambitious advisor, dedicated father, and loving husband. But after living for nearly thirty years in Hong Kong, personal tragedy strikes and Paul's marriage unravels in the fallout. When he makes a fleeting connection with Elizabeth, a distressed American woman on the verge of collapse, his life is thrown into turmoil. Less than twenty-four hours later, Elizabeth's son is found dead in Shenzhen, and Paul, invigorated by a newfound purpose, sets out to investigate the murder on his own. As Paul, Elizabeth, and a detective friend descend deeper into the Shenzhen underworld they discover dark secrets hidden beneath China's booming new wealth. In a country where rich businessmen with expensive degrees can corrupt the judicial system, the potential for evil abounds. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows . . . A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions a healer, a weaver and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth. As the net closes in, we discover a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life. Part of Polygon's DARKLAND TALES series. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. …

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Pressure for independence remains a major force in Scotland, but the case for it has changed substantially since the referendum of 2014. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 60 per cent of the Scottish electorate voted to remain part of the European Union the only part of the UK to reject Brexit so unequivocally. This new analysis takes into account a host of economic issues including deficit, debt, currency, energy (including North Sea oil and gas), pensions, mortgages and the financial sector. It weighs up the advantages of rejoining the EU single market, either as a full EU member or as a member of the EEA, with the disadvantages of a hard border with the rest of the UK. Independence would create opportunities, but it would also bring many thorny problems which the Scottish government, and the Scottish people, would have to face. . The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. As an outstanding exponent of Art Nouveau and leader of the Glasgow Style, Charles Rennie Mackintoshs buildings, designs and paintings are known the world over. In this book Eilidh Muldoon shares her passion for one of the twentieth-centurys artistic giants. From Mackintoshs most iconic buildings, such as the Glasgow School of Art, The Cranston Tearooms and Hill House to furniture, stained glass and fabric designs, these drawings are an ideal way to explore his artistic world, and by adding colour, adding your own personal stamp. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. This sticker atlas is a stimulating and fun way to introduce children to the various regions of Scotland and introduce the immense variety of the countrys landscape, flora and fauna, and places of cultural significance. Ben Blathwayt is renowned for his beautiful and detailed illustrative work, which is ideal for this medium. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. IT TAKES A LOT TO GET UNDER THE SKIN OF CORNELIUS FATTY OLEARY, .literally. The heroically proportioned Fatty OLeary can normally take life as it comes. Right at home in easy-going Fayetteville, Arkansas, he is happily married to his childhood sweetheart Betty and likes nothing better than chewing the fat with his good friends Tubby ORourke and Porky Flanagan. But when Fatty and Betty head off to Ireland on a trip of a lifetime, they find that they have left their comfort zone far behind. Calamity and mayhem ensue as one mishap after another befalls the beleaguered couple. Can Fattys broad shoulders take the strain or will he suffer one indignity too many? Will he get his just deserts or just dessert? The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. Set sail with the School Ship Tobermory! Follow the exploits of the children who go to a most unusual school - the sail-powered training ship Tobermory. When a film crew arrives in Tobermory Bay, Ben and Fee are invited to be extras. But their suspicions are soon aroused - is the film crew genuine, or are they up to something sinister? Ben and Fee soon discover the truth when they uncover a dastardly plan masterminded by a South American businessman. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…