I read this book on a return visit to the 'auld country' - the first in almost thirty years. Scotland has certainly changed and so have her writers. Greig's writing blends that granite dourness of the male Scot with a lyrical beauty that is as haunting as it is unusual. The book form of the work is complex, with the reader having to assume different perspectives and try to appreciate different personalities. In particular, as a Scot who grew up in the sixties and left in the seventies, this work has a quality that is both familiar and strange. I can see much of myself and my contemporaries in these characters, however the writing is broad enough and distanced enough to allow for these introspection not to interfere with what is an excellent story.

I am really glad that I found this book and this writer. I have purchased other of his novels and have found his style consistently poetic and memorable. Beautiful writing... At a personal level, I found the use of Scots (which is not too daunting for the non-Scots speaker) just great! It was a powerful feeling to have that wonderful evocation of people and places that are so different and yet so familiar.

With people like Andrew Greig around I am very optimistic about the future of writing in Scotland. A really wonderfully crafted and skilfully executed book. If this is what has been happening in Scotland in the last thirty years I will make sure to come back sooner next time!

I love this book. It's a tough romance, about loyalty and friendship as much as passion and betrayal. It's set all over Scotland, from the Borders to the Orkney and Shetland isles, and in some way it's about the identity of the country as well as that of the central characters. It's got a great central woman, Kim - tough, fragile, committed in at least two senses - who really runs the show and creates these amazing artworks and display boxes. If you're interested in climbing, passionate love, being a parent or having them, landscape, loss and moments of beauty - this one's for you! I've read it so often and never tired of it.

Building a complex relationship among four main characters, Greig's book works perfectly. Using a wonderful method of revealing the past and the present in perfect symmetry, I found myself needing to know if Graeme lived or died, if the 'bairn' was his or Jimmy's. Or somebody else's entirely. The subtitle "a modern romance" cannot do this book justice, as it is a wonderful story of friends and lovers, more than romance and more than a modern tale. Read it...

There are of course many editions of Burns's poetry available, but sadly most mass-market editions seem more concerned with perpetuating some kind of twee, Brigadoony version of Burns and Scotland. Of the ostensibly scholarly paperback editions of Burns, however, I have not seen anything that comes close to Andrew Noble and Patrick Scott Hogg's for comprehensiveness, annotation, and context. Noble's introduction is brilliant and takes great care to rehabilitate Burns's image by taking him out of the hands of St. Andrew's Society sentimentality and resituating the poet in the political and social climate of his time. Burns was politically radical, sexually promiscuous, and intellectually engaged...all qualities that are effaced by the defanged, Burns supper bardie image that has been so popular with many Scots and Scottish-Americans alike. If you're seriously interested in Burns as a man and a poet, this is the edition you should own. If you want something to dust off once a year on January 25th (along with your kilt, sporran, and bagpipes), go buy one of the editions with the tartan cover.

Compiled and edited by R. Andrew McDonald (Assistant Professor, Department of History and Fine Arts, University College of Cape Breton) History, Literature, And Music In Scotland 700-1560 is an impressive collection of informative, scholarly essays by a variety of educated authors delving into the nuances of Scottish history and culture ranging from Tudor family politics, to connections in the medieval music of Scotland and Ireland. Exhaustively researched and highly recommended for academic reference collections and supplemental reading lists, History, Literature, And Music In Scotland 700-1560 is a college-level presentation of ideas, art, political machinations and offers a representative cross-section of medieval Scottish history.

The period of Scotland's History 1000-1400 is my favourite, but though a lot has been written about Wallace, Bruce and the struggles of Scotland to remain free from England, not a lot of attention has been paid to the seaboard of Scotland - the Hebrides, Agryll and the Isle of Man. During this central Middle Ages, the struggle for control of the area was complex, but little focus has been done in trying to sort out the problems of the area or how they played a roll in Scottish History.

Sometimes it takes an outlander to eye the period with a less prejudiced eye. And McDonald, an instructor at the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto and has taught at several Canadian Universities, turns that eye to the area where no study has been published for the last 50 years. The end result, is a truly rounded view of the history of the Isles from 1100-1340s. McDonald's style is very readable, presenting the Rising of the mighty Somerled, to his descendant, John MacDonald, the first Lord of the Isles. He shows the changing political mix of the MacDougalls, MacDonalds and MacRuairis, how their internal Clan struggles affected or were affected by Scotland's struggle for freedom, how Norway was a big player the affairs. He also addresses the Churches, the Castles that are a constant reminder of these people.

A wonderful book for people wishing to know about the Medieval Period of Scotland's Isles.

I should have known that I was destined to be a historian, given that this was my childhood picture book. My mother's copy is dogeared and threadbare and beloved. The scholarship is not necessarily the highest, and some of the illustrations are over-romanticised Victorian engravings, but it gives an excellent thumbnail sketch of every ruler of England from Edgbert (giving it a leg-up on many other survays, which begin with William the Conqueror or, if they are better, Edward the Confessor) to Elizabeth II, listing birth date and place, marriage(s), children (legitmate and illegitamate), date, cause and place of death, and place of burial, with a essay ranging from two paragraphs to two pages, depending on the importance of the ruler.

It also gives the same information for all the rulers of Scotland, and information, although not as complete, for the native princes of Wales. Not authoritative, but filled with a great deal of basic information, and illustrations of places and tomb monuments.

Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus' biographical volumes offer a very personal look into the past of Scotland (in the first book). Her account of her family's lives and what Scotland was like in the early 19th century would be fascinating to anyone interested in that country or interested in the lives of women of that era. In some ways she seems very contemporary and in other ways she seems very far removed from life today. But her memoirs offer a unique view of how life was lived that long ago and in a place so remote from the mainstream. I found the first book totally enthralling and look forward to reading the other volumes of her later life, after she married an Anglo-Irish landowner and moved to Ireland, and her later travels.

This book is the only one I have found with a comprehensive approach to tartanware. Although small, it provides information about decorative elements, original function, and reason for collecting. Tartanware has significant value in the antiques market, and it would be helpful to have more published material.

Any possible straight forward or odd ball official golf ruling is in this book. You think you may know the answers without the book, well I bet you don't. The book is also fun to challenge your golf buddies rule knowledge when your on the course. The answers are not always what you might expect.

The Rules of Golf are not interesting. But the Decisions on the Rules are both interesting and informative. There is no better way to get an understanding of the rules than by reading this book. I know it sounds crazy but I actually found it interesting, even if if fails to address a situation which must arise frequently: Is it a double hit when the club strikes a sand-blasted shot in flight? (Keep in mind that the club doesn't initially contact the ball because of the layer of sand that intervenes when the ball is propelled out of the trap.) I actually read the 1993 Edition (not 1992 as Amazon is listing it). Maybe that question is addressed in the 1995 Edition.

Any player seriously intent on understanding the rules must have this reference work. It is both enlightening and entertaining. Remember, all the scenarios here are real-life occurrences - often more bizarre than anything you could make up.

To Destiny above: You don't need the Decisions to solve your question. Look in the Rules of Golf, Definitions: Stroke

Fisher's book details the successful and unsuccessful battle Wallace waged against Edward's army. He details the atrocities on both sides, each equally inhumane. In the end, the reader gets a more realistic view of this great Scottish hero. He or she should also begin to understand why Scotland and England are two separate countries, each with their own history, united by a common sovereign.

Andrew Fisher's book was first published in 1986, and is a well-researched account of the life of Wallace. Given that it was written 9 years before Braveheart was released, it cannot be put in the category of books (e.g. MacKay's book) that can be accused of trying to cash in on the movie. This book benefits from having been written objectively, and it is clear where Andrew Fisher is drawing conclusions from the limited information available. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in this period of Scottish History and in the life of William Wallace. [MacBraveHeart - May, 1999]

There are many books published on Wallace and the Scottish Wars for Independence. Historians' interpretations of Wallace are almost fictional because there are few materials to study or they become wrapped up in the legend.

Andrew Fisher has done a great job in telling the story of Wallace and conducts thought provoking analysis of the man, e.g. Wallace's execution by King Edward I. Most books seem to interpret his execution as something extraordinary to the times, when in fact; his execution was common for traitors to the King. Also, Fisher's analysis of Wallace's military leadership and his battles are downright original.

People that understand Wallace only from the myth and legend will learn a lot by reading Fisher's book. It is an honest portrayal of Wallace and his place in Scottish history.

I was lucky to follow in most of Wallace's footsteps while visiting Scotland in 1996. I visited the execution site in London (see www.findagrave.com for pictures), the battle of Sterling Bridge and the Gothic looking Wallace monument built in the 1860's. It was in the monument that I climbed a narrow stone spiral staircase to a room, just below the top of the monument, where stands what is supposed to be Wallace's sword. It is a simple looking sword, nothing fancy, and nothing astonishing. But, when I gazed upon it, I thought of Wallace the man, not the myth. Fisher does just that; he strips the myths of Wallace and paints a picture of the real man.

Enjoy...

If you are looking for tragedy and a dark bloody drama then I recommend Macbeth with no reservations whatsoever. On a scale of 1-5, I fell this book deserves a 4.5. Written by the greatest literary figure of all time, Shakespeare mesmorizes the reader with suspense and irony. The Scottish Thane Macbeth is approachd by three witches who attempt and succeed at paying with his head. They tell him he will become king, which he does, alog with the aide of his ambitious wife. Macbeth's honor and integrity is destroyed with the deceit and murders he commits. As the novel progresses, Macbeth's conscience tortures him and makes him weak minded. Clearly the saying "what goes around comes around," is put to use since Macbeth's doom was similar to how he acquired his status of kingship. He kills Duncan, the king of Scottland and chops the head off the Thane of Cawdor, therefore the Thane of Fife, Macduff, does the same thing to him. I feel anyone who decides to read this extraordinary book will not be disatisfied and find himself to become an audience to Shakespearean tragedies.

William Shakespeare's tragedies are universal. We know that the tragedy will be chalk-full of blood, murder, vengeance, madness and human frailty. It is, in fact, the uncorrectable flaws of the hero that bring his death or demise. Usually, the hero's better nature is wickedly corrupted. That was the case in Hamlet, whose desire to avenge his father's death consumed him to the point of no return and ended disastrously in the deaths of nearly all the main characters. At the end of Richard III, all the characters are lying dead on the stage. In King Lear, the once wise, effective ruler goes insane through the manipulations of his younger family members. But there is something deeply dark and disturbing about Shakespeare's darkest drama- Macbeth. It is, without a question, Gothic drama. The supernatural mingles as if everyday occurence with the lives of the people, the weather is foul, the landscape is eerie and haunting, the castles are cold and the dungeons pitch-black. And then there are the three witches, who are always by a cauldron and worship the nocturnal goddess Hecate. It is these three witches who prophetize a crown on the head of Macbeth. Driven by the prophecy, and spurred on by the ambitious, egotistic and Machiavellian Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare's strongest female character), Macbeth murders the king Duncan and assumes the throne of Scotland. The roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are tour de force performances for virtuosic actors. A wicked couple, a power-hungry couple, albeit a regal, intellectual pair, who can be taken into any form- Mafia lord and Mafia princess, for example, as in the case of a recent movie with a modern re-telling of Macbeth.

Nothing and no one intimidates Macbeth. He murders all who oppose him, including Banquo, who had been a close friend. But the witches predict doom, for Macbeth, there will be no heirs and his authority over Scotland will come to an end. Slowly as the play progresses, we discover that Macbeth's time is running up. True to the classic stylings of Shakespeare tragedy, Lady Macbeth goes insane, sleepwalking at night and ranting about bloodstained hands. For Macbeth, the honor of being a king comes with a price for his murder. He sees Banquo's ghost at a dinner and breaks down in hysteria in front of his guests, he associates with three witches who broil "eye of newt and tongue of worm", and who conjure ghotsly images among them of a bloody child. Macbeth is Shakespeare's darkest drama, tinged with foreboding, mystery and Gothic suspense. But, nevertheless, it is full of great lines, among them the soliloquy of Macbeth, "Out, out, brief candle" in which he contemplates the brevity of human life, confronting his own mortality. Macbeth has been made into films, the most striking being Roman Polansky's horrific, gruesome, R-rated movie in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks in the nude and the three witches are dried-up, grey-haired naked women, and Macbeth's head is devilishly beheaded and stuck at the end of a pole. But even more striking in the film is that at the end, the victor, Malcolm, who has defeated Macbeth, sees the witches for advise. This says something: the cycle of murder and violenc will begin again, which is what Macbeth's grim drama seems to be saying about powerhungry men who stop at nothing to get what they want.

While I was basically familiar with Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth, I have only recently actually read the bard's brilliant play. The drama is quite dark and moody, but this atmosphere serves Shakespeare's purposes well. In Macbeth, we delve deeply into the heart of a true fiend, a man who would betray the king, who showers honors upon him, in a vainglorious snatch at power. Yet Macbeth is not 100% evil, nor is he a truly brave soul. He waxes and wanes over the execution of his nefarious plans, and he thereafter finds himself haunted by the blood on his own hands and by the ethereal spirits of the innocent men he has had murdered. On his own, Macbeth is much too cowardly to act so traitorously to his kind and his country. The source of true evil in these pages is the cold and calculating Lady Macbeth; it is she who plots the ultimate betrayal, forcefully pushes her husband to perform the dreadful acts, and cleans up after him when he loses his nerve. This extraordinary woman is the lynchpin of man's eternal fascination with this drama. I find her behavior a little hard to account for in the closing act, but she looms over every single male character we meet here, be he king, loyalist, nobleman, courtier, or soldier. Lady Macbeth is one of the most complicated, fascinating, unforgettable female characters in all of literature.

The plot does not seem to move along as well as Shakespeare's other most popular dramas, but I believe this is a result of the writer's intense focus on the human heart rather than the secondary activity that surrounds the related royal events. It is fascinating if sometimes rather disjointed reading. One problem I had with this play in particular was one of keeping up with each of the many characters that appear in the tale; the English of Shakespeare's time makes it difficult for me to form lasting impressions of the secondary characters, of whom there are many. Overall, though, Macbeth has just about everything a great drama needs: evil deeds, betrayal, murder, fighting, ghosts, omens, cowardice, heroism, love, and, as a delightful bonus, mysterious witches. Very many of Shakespeare's more famous quotes are also to be found in these pages, making it an important cultural resource for literary types. The play doesn't grab your attention and absorb you into its world the way Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet does, but this voyage deep into the heart of evil, jealousy, selfishness, and pride forces you to consider the state of your own deep-seated wishes and dreams, and for that reason there are as many interpretations of the essence of the tragedy as there are readers of this Shakespearean masterpiece. No man's fall can rival that of Macbeth's, and there is a great object lesson to be found in this drama. You cannot analyze Macbeth without analyzing yourself to some degree, and that goes a long way toward accounting for the Tragedy of Macbeth's literary importance and longevity.