Books published by Birlinn General

Brigid Benson's Hebridean Journey is a fabulous invitation to discover the unique spirit of Scotland's sensational island archipelago on the farthest edge of Europe.

The Long Golden Afternoon tells the story of the transformative generation of golf that followed the rise of Young Tom Morris - an era of sweeping change that saw Scotland's national pastime become one of the rare games played around the world, told against the backdrop of the passionate rivalry between Scotland and England.

'Coffin roads' are a marked feature of the landscape of the Scottish Highlands and islands - many are now popular walking and cycling routes. This book journeys along eight coffin roads to discover and explore the distinctive traditions, beliefs and practices around dying, death and mourning in the communities which created and used them.

This is the essential companion to the fascinating world of Scottish placenames. It features more than 8,000 placenames, from districts, towns and villages to rivers, lochs and mountains, and also includes a comprehensive introduction and maps.

Three hundred years ago, Scotland struck an extraordinary bargain with its English neighbour. Like all the best deals it involved giving away little - nominal sovereignty - in exchange for major gains: economic, political and cultural. Control over key domestic matters was retained. Today, that bargain, updated for the democratic era, is better than ever.Nonetheless, a Scottish nationalist campaign of remarkable discipline has brought the United Kingdom to the point of extinction. This book sets out how to save it. It offers new political ideas and a clear set of rules to govern the constitutional debate. But above all, it urges those who wish to save the Union to explain that the bargain is not just a matter of money, or even sentiment about a shared past, but a canny and sophisticated arrangement that benefits all nations of the UK. It is the foundation of Scotland's success and unique place in the world.

Published to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Rangers' 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup final victory over Dynamo Moscow, The Road to Barcelona is a series of recollections built around those heady days in Spain as Rangers won the European Cup Winners' Cup.

A highly accessible, perfectly poised anthology celebrating Scotland's islands. Varying in length, form, music and intensity, these poems alternatively capture an almost abstract beauty while others depict the beauty of island life and relationships.

This history of the geology of Central Scotland begins 400 million years ago and brings the reader on a remarkable journey, to Pictish times and the Industrial Revolution. Part of the Landscapes in Stone series.

New edition of this classic and pioneering account of what happened to the thousands of people who left Skye and the wider north of Scotland to make new lives across the sea. This is the story of the Highland impact on the New World.

Being a doctor is a privilege; it is also very demanding and can be stressful, and to be able to look after others, we need to look after ourselves. We offer you this little book of poetry, Tools of the Trade, as a friend to provide inspiration, comfort and support as you begin work.

The Small Isles comprise the Inner Hebridean islands of Rum, Eigg, Canna and Muck. The landscapes of these beautiful, remote islands tell of erupting volcanoes, an ancient ecosystem that included dinosaurs and an ancient desert landscape. The geological history stretches back 3 billion years to the earliest events recorded on Earth.

Brand new Hebridean Pocket Diary for 2023 - illustrated throughout by Mairi Hedderwick.

Dreaming the Impossible is the definitive book of racism in British sports. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of sport and his own personal experience of racism Mihir Bose examines the way racism has affected black and Asian sportsmen and women and how attitudes have evolved over the past fifty years.

The south of Scotland has a long and turbulent geological past. Perhaps most notably, it marks the place where, 432 million years ago, an ocean, once as wide as the north Atlantic, was compressed by a convergence of ancient lands and then ceased to be.

This is a classic book of kayaking adventures from a Booker Prize nominee. With striking new cover design and a specially written introduction by the author, Argonauts of the Scottish Isles is a vivid and exciting journey around Orkney, Shetland and the islands of Scotland, combining kayaking adventure with history.

The ghosts of the past will not be silenced. The tenth instalment in the worldwide bestselling DCI Daley series. Kinloch must face further tragedy as a past that all hoped long gone has risen again and its ghosts can still wreak a terrible revenge.

The year is 1317. Young English squire Benedict Russell joins the garrison of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the last English-held town in Scotland. As the Scots draw closer and the English king does nothing to stop them, he finds himself in a race against time to solve the brutal murder of a young girl and find the traitor lurking within Berwick's walls.

Featuring iconic animals from red deer, golden eagles and Highland cows to red squirrels, pine martens and salmon as well as the plants, trees and flowers which thrive in mountain, forest, moor and seashore, this book is the ideal way to explore Scotland's amazing range of animals, flora and fauna.

Every year, ten men from Ness, at the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, sail north-east for some forty miles to a remote rock called Sulasgeir. Their mission is to catch and harvest the guga; the almost fully grown gannet chicks nesting on the two hundred foot high cliffs that circle the tiny island. The Guga Hunters tells their story.

This is a classic account of the life and death of a Highland community. The author weaves his own humorous and perceptive account of crofting with extracts from his father's journal - a terse, factual and down to earth vision of the day-to-day tasks of crofting life.

Written as fiction, this text is Patrick MacGill's autobiography. Starting with an account of his childhood in Ireland at the end of the 19th century, the story moves to Scotland where, tramp then gang-labourer then navvy, Dermond Flynn (as he sometimes calls himself) discovers himself as a writer.

Liz Lochhead is one of the leading poets writing in Britain today. This, her debut collection, published in 1972, was a landmark publication. Writing at a time when the landscape of Scottish poetry was male dominated, hers was a new voice, tackling subjects that resonated with readers - as it still does. Her poetry paved the way, and inspired, countless new voices including Ali Smith, Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay and Carol Ann Duffy. Still writing and performing today, fifty years on from her first book of poetry, Liz Lochhead has been awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and was Scotland's second modern Makar, succeeding Edwin Morgan.Memo for Spring is accessible, vital and always as honest as it is hopeful. Driving through this collection are themes of pain, acceptance, loss and triumph.