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Cover-to-Cover book reviews in conjunction with Scottish Field
The Watermill Bookshop is pleased to be featuring here the book reviews from Scottish Field, as a service to our customers and Scottish Field readers.
Simply click on the title to order or ring The Watermill on 01887 822896. Overseas readers please contact us for delivery charges.
June Reviews below
The Dodger by Tim Carroll
Mainstream h/b **** Johnny Dodge was a wartime hero immortalised in the legendary 1963 film and Boxing Day staple, The Great Escape. Drawing on Dodge’s private papers, which include photographs taken inside prison camps, Carroll tells the story of the most intriguing of the Allied prisoners who broke out of Hermann Goering’s ‘escape-proof’ camp in March 1944.
£18.99
Southern Comfort by Neil Drysdale
Birlinn h/b *** The Borders is Scottish rugby’s heartland, the birthplace of Sevens rugby and the home of Bill McLaren. Through interviews with storied Borderers such as Jim Telfer, Chris Paterson and John Rutherford, Drysdale manages to tease out many of the key reasons for the intense passion that surrounds Borders rugby – predominantly the ferocious rivalry between the mill and market towns of this sparsely-populated rural area.
£16.99
The Road to Hell by Gillian Galbraith
Polygon h/b **** Edinburgh-based detective Alice Rice is facing her fifth and most challenging case. Two seemingly unrelated deaths become personal when Alice discovers a link. In the midst of her personal problems and career challenges she must now contend with a dangerous killer. Threatening phone calls and the vandalism of her car and home see Alice fighting for her life as she uncovers a dark side of Edinburgh that she never previously knew existed. DS Rice is a welcome addition to Edinburgh crime scenes and the ever-growing club of tough female policewomen
£14.99
Scottish Wild Flowers by Michael Scott
Birlinn p/b **** This pocket-sized guide focuses primarily on plants of the low-lying areas of Scotland and although a lack of space means no Gaelic names and restricted information, it is a fantastic little ready-reckoner. Featuring the 300 most common species, with pictures of each plant and a short description, the key information is readily accessible. Even if it can take a while to find the plant you’re after, this is still a very handy little book.
£5.99
Pagan Symbols of the Picts by Stuart McHardy
Luath h/b ** This scholarly and occasionally rather dense tome attempts to challenge conventional interpretations of Pictish stone art, and in doing so uses 40 years of research from one of the country’s foremost experts. His conclusions, some of which are necessarily speculative (are the Picts really Danes?), are nonetheless fascinating pointers as to the real story of Scotland’s hidden past.
£14.99
The Desperate Journey by Kathleen Fidler
Kelpies p/b **** A new edition of Kathleen Fidler’s much-loved tale, this children’s book follows twins Kirsty and David Murray as they search for a place to call home. Uprooted from the north of Scotland, they travel to Glasgow, before boarding a ship heading for Canada. The work they leave behind was difficult, but so is the journey ahead.
£5.99
Halcyon in the Hebrides by Bob Orrell
Whittles p/b *** This is a first-person account of a sailing tour of the Hebrides from Fairlie in Ayrshire to the west coast of Lewis, and then back down the coast. Orrell single-handedly sailed more than 1000 miles and, particularly for anyone of a nautical bent, this nicely-written watery travelogue is a wonderfully evocative memoir of Scotland’s islands and rugged coastline.
£16.99
There's Always a First Fish by Bob Smith
Grimsay press p/b ***** For most anglers, and particularly those of a certain age, this is a gem. Part-memoir, part-whimsy and stuffed with anecdotes that will bring a smile to even the sternest face, this short, posthumous book chronicles Smith’s heroic efforts to catch sticklebacks, eels, herring, sea trout, and pike using everything from gaff to dry-fly. Slightly dated but highly recommended.
£9.95
Last Man Standing by Norman Collins
Pen & Sword ***** This fantastic little WWI book is a must for any budding war historians. Collins was underage when he joined the Seaforth Highlanders and was a 19-year-old officer when he led at the battle of the Somme. This book contains extracts from his diaries and a remarkable personal collection of photographs, which lend this account a poignancy and immediacy which is often breathtaking.
£12.99
Steel and Tartan by Patrick Watt
Spellmount h/b *** Inspired by the life of his great-grandfather, WWI veteran Peter Bruce, author Patrick Watt spent five years researching the exploits of the 4th Cameron Highlanders. The guts of the book is made up of the accounts of the men who fought for the batallion. The triumphs, frustrations and horrors faced by these ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances fill these pages, and are augmented by grainy photographs showing the faces of the men who banded together in the face of their own imminent demise.
£16.99