Books published by Luath Press Ltd

An audio recording to accompany the Luath Scots Language Learner book, which conveys the authentic pronunciation, especially important to readers from outside Scotland.

This collection takes a measured look at those three most important facets of life - sex, death, and of course football.

Madame Fi Fi's Farewell opens with some lively, affecting poems of love and relationships in a variety of voices. This is a book of poems to read and re-read, quietly to yourself or - as good poetry of any age deserves - out loud.

Come and meet some wild men and tame beasts. Explore the fleeting moment and capture the passing of time in these portrait studies which document a year's journey.

This guide follows a trail of places associated with Robert Louis Stevenson. John Cairney, perhaps best known for writing and starring in "The Robert Burns Story", is one of the few people to have visited all the places on the RLS trail.

This is the inside story of a newspaper and nation over five decades. This birth, death and the rebirth of The Scottish Daily Express.

Melnikov is a complex man whose personal struggle with the bottle is an inner drama which parallels the tense twists and turns of the spy mystery which unfolds. His options are narrowing. Can he summon the wit and will to survive?

This comprehensive guide brings to the reader an idea of the island of Rum's history, geography and geology, fauna and flora and culture.

Kokumo's second collection of poetry explores love, race, nature, freedom and imprisonment, with fun and humour. Alternating between the luscious natural world and feelings of war and anger, Kokumo's poetry takes the reader from resolution to conflict, then back again.

A collection of the hilarious sayings and expresions favoured by the grannies of Glasgow, along with their English translations.

A collection of poems inspired by the authors' own personal responses to the Five Pillars of Islam. The two poets form a dialogue with one another, exploring their different cultural backgrounds and how these mold our perceptions regarding religion, tradition and society.

The 4th in Ralph Storer's acclaimed series of walking guides, this book describes avery possible ascent route on 32 Munros in the Cairngorm National Park. Full colour photos and maps throughout.

An insight into life on the Slate Islands and a trade that ensured international recognition for Scotland, written by the Easdale Folk Museum archivist

For the first time, Bonnie Prince Charlie's arduous escape of 1746 has been recreated in a single journey. The author, along with his faithful border collie Meg, retraces the Prince's epic 530 mile walk through remote wilderness, hidden glens, modern day roads and uninhabited islands. Gregor Ewing tells the Prince's story alongside the trials of his own present day journey, whilst reflecting on the plight of the highlanders who, despite everything, loyally protected their rightful prince. The author's love of history and the landscape in which he travels shines through in this modern day adventure. BACK COVER: Charlie: Prince Charles Edward Stuart, second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, instigator of the Jacobite uprising of 1945, fugitive with a price of ?30,000 on his head following the disaster of Culloden, romantic figure of heroic failure. Meg: My faithful, four-legged companion, carrier of supplies, listener of my woes, possessor of my only towel. Me: An ordinary guy from Falkirk only just on the right side of 40, the only man in a houseful of women, with a thirst for a big adventure, craving an escape from everyday life. For the first time, Bonnie Prince Charlie's arduous escape of 1746 has been recreated in a single journey. The author, along with his faithful border collie Meg, retraces Charlie's epic 530 mile walk through remote wilderness, hidden glens, modern day roads and uninhabited Ewing tells the Prince's story alongside the trials of his own present day journey, whilst reflecting on the plight of the highlanders who, despite everything, loyally protected their rightful prince. The author's love of history and the landscape in which he travels shines through in this modern day adventure. One of the strengths of this man and dog travelogue is the neat way it stitches together history with the writer's personal journey. The balance is perfect. TONY POLLARD

A poetry collection by John Hudson that focuses on the ways in which our lives find meaning in the context of the natural world.

A collection of poems about India and Pakistan based on the personal experiences and memories of the writer, interspersed with commentary and biography.

Ivanhoe follows Wilfred of Ivanhoe, part of one of the few Saxon families at a time when English nobility was dominated by the Normans, who is out of favour with his father for his allegiance to the Norman king, Richard the Lionheart. The gripping storyline beautifully captures the 12th century tensions between Saxons and Normans, Nobility and Commonality and Jews and Gentiles, with a whole host of well-known characters from Robin Hood to Friar Tuck. REVIEWS: A curious exemplification of the power of a single book for good or harm is shown in the effects wrought by Don Quixote and those wrought by Ivanhoe. The first swept the world's admiration for the meiaeval chivalry-silliness out of existence; and the other restored it. MARK TWAIN[Ivanhoe] may have been badly wounded in combat - only to recover and save the day - but he has never been sliced up like this. SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY This is exactly what is needed in order to rescue Sir Walter Scott. ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH. I applaud this new, shorter version of Ivanhoe which makes this wonderful novel, once so popular, accessible to a new generation of readers who will be able to enjoy its classic blend of history and romance. PROFESSOR GRAHAM TULLOCH, Editor of the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley novels Professor David Purdie's meticulous adaption has made Sir Walter Scott's classic much more accessible to the modern reader... Purdie has managed to conserve Scott's masterly evocation of the 'sights, colours and sounds' of the Middle Ages. EDINBURGH LIFEBACK COVER: Fight on, brave knights. Man dies, but glory lives! A mediaeval tale of political intrigue, tumultuous romance, family machinations and a country's struggle for peace, Ivanhoe is one of Sir Walter Scott's finest historical novels. Banished from his father's court, Wilfred of Ivanhoe returns from Richard Lionheart's Crusades to claim love, justice and glory. Tyrannical Norman knights, indolent Saxon nobles and the usurper Prince John stand in his way. A saga of tournaments and melees, chivalry and love, nobility and merry men, Ivanhoe's own quest soon becomes a battle for the English throne itself... David Purdie's inspired reworking of Ivanhoe's complex characters, romance and high drama is an engrossing page-turner. His armour polished, his sword and dialogue sharp, Ivanhoe re-emerges alive for the modern age.

Cameron Taylor believes that the search for one's ancestors helps you to work out who you really are, and this book provides a great starting point to uncovering your past.

Voicing Scotland takes the reader on a discovery tour through Scotland's traditional music and song culture, past and present. West unravels the strings that link many of our contemporary musicians, singers and poets with those of the past, offering up to our ears these voices which deserve to be more loudly heard. What do they say to us in the 21st Century? What is the role of tradition in the contemporary world? Can there be a folk culture in the digital age? What next for the traditional arts? REVIEWS Can folk stay true to tradition and still be genuinely contemporary? Can its pride in place counter globalisation- without collapsing into narrow nationalism? The answer for, Gary West, is a resounding Yes. SCOTSMAN Voicing Scotland...is an engrossing assessment of where Scottish Traditional Music standsl, at a time of resonant political developments in the nation's history but also of globalisation and the threat of cultural homogenisation in todays 'liquid society'. SCOTSMAN

From Thomas Hamilton to contemporary artists, Tom Normand traces the 200 year history of the Royal Scottish Academy. High quality reproductions are accompanied by short summaries, directing the reader to particular points of interest within each artwork.

So stands Scotland where it did? Not on your nelly.The professional classes in Scotland may be busy with Commissions, vows, deals, submissions and General Election planning but the wider Yes Movement is busy with huge spontaneous meetings involving hundreds, even thousands of people - gatherings like birds flocking before winter or starlings swooping to throw shapes into darkening skies. Because they can.Wee White Blossom is a post-indyref, poppadom-sized version of Blossom for folk who've already sampled the full bhuna. It updates Blossom with a new chapter on Scotland's Year of Living Dangerously. Lesley Riddoch shares her thoughts on the Smith Commission, the departure of Gordon Brown, the return of Alex Salmond and the latest developments in land reform and local control. She considers the future of the SNP, the Radical Independence Campaign, Common Weal, Women for Independence and Scottish Labour in the aftermath of the referendum. This is a plain-speaking, incisive call to restore equality and control to local communities and let Scotland flourish.Wee White Blossom is the ideal companion volume to Blossom, whether you want an update on the first edition or an appetiser before delving into the pages of the original.The most influential, passionate and constructive book to appear during the referendum campaign. Blossom seized readers because it argued for independence as means to an end - restoring control over their own lives to Scottish communities so disempowered by top-down authority that they had no real experience of democracy.NEAL ASCHERSONA brilliant, moving, well written, informative, important and valuable piece of work.ELAINE C SMITHNot so much an intervention in the independence debate as a heartfelt manifesto for a better democracy.ESTHER BREITENBACH, Scotsman

The Last Tram tae Auchenshuggle is the hilarious patter and build up to the end of the Glasgow trams, featuring Glasgow's famous clippie, Big Aggie MacDonald.

Examining how the firm developed over the course of the 20th century, the author portrays how the broadcaster developed its own Scottish identity despite governance from London and how it thrived within the context of the history it reported and created.

Join Alistair Findlay on an off-beat tour of Scotland where he captures the humorous, passionate, and sometimes biting voices of some of our national treasures.

A unique analysis on how the Union was saved by our commander-in-chief Mr Cameron, the lengths he went to secure his victory and the wider implications for the UK and Europe. In a series of open letters to the Prime Minister, historian Owen Dudley Edwards, examines the man behind the victory, and the manner of the victory itself.

Scotland's Democracy Trail goes from Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars, down the High Street, across North Bridge to Calton Hill, and then on down to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. Although the roots of democracy run deep in Scotland, here we concentrate on the footprint of democracy in our capital city.

Set in the 17th century against the backdrop of political and religious conflict, the second of Watt's John MacKenzie series is as historically rich and gripping as the last. MacKenzie investigates the murder of a woman accused of witchcraft and he must act quickly when the same accusations are made against the woman's daughter. Superstition clashes with reason as Scotland moves towards the Enlightenment. The 1600s are expertly recreated with a strong sense of history and place.