Product Description
Sixteen colorful, time-honored tales provide thrilling accounts of giants rumbling down mountainsides, of a magic wand that turns stone pillars into warriors, of Beira, the cruel old Queen of Winter, of Bride, the youthful goddess of spring and growth and more. Lively, highly readable collection will captivate lovers of folklore and mythology and fascinate anyone interested in ancient Scottish culture.
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Customer Reviews (3)

Useful summary of many folk beliefs
This work contains a great summary of many elements of Scottish folklore, but there are some areas where McNeil accepts the sources a little too uncritically. For example, I didn't find her discussions of the druids particularly enlightening, and there were several points where I saw a great deal of Germanic material and the author didn't seem interested in sorting Germanic from Celtic.

This being said, I found the discussions of magic, witchcraft, and fairy folk to be of interest and adding considerably to my knowledge in the field of folklore.

On the whole, though, this is a useful resource for understanding uniquely Scottish folklore.I would generally recommend it with the above reservations.

A Classic Work That Should Be Re-released
F. Marian McNeill, in the tradition of Alexander Carmichael (Carmina Gadelica) and Anne Ross' The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, has done an immense service in her writing The Silver Bough Series. These books are currently out of print, unfortunately. If you can find a copy of the first volume you will not be sorry. Little known are the other three volumes which explore a number of very ancient Scottish customs and beliefs, from Selkirk to Orkney to the Isle of Mull to Aberdeen and Fife, which survive to the present day in many cases. In an era of "Celtic" insta-books some of these classical ethnographic sources are deeply refreshing.

Insight on Scottish Folk Customs
This book is excellent for ethnologists and the curious alike!Although it is out of print, it is a book worth finding!Written in 4 volumes, each takes a look at different parts of the Scottish folk beliefs -fromwitchcraft and second sight, to songs and stories told over time, this bookhas it all, and in an easy to read-straight forward fashion.Definitely abook for anyone remotely interested in Scotland or non-christian customs! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A detailed history of witch-hunting and persecution in Scotland from approximately 1658-1662
An Abundance Of Witches: The Great Scottish Witch-Hunt is a detailed history of witch-hunting and persecution in Scotland from approximately 1658-1662, an era generally thought to be the high point of a turbulent history of violence and hatred for accused witches. The turmoil of political history, Scotland's previous time as an English province, and the revived fervor of Calvinist religion in the Scottish Church accentuated the internal conflict. An Abundance Of Witches does not shy from sometimes horrifying details, including calculated tallies of men and women strangled or burned alive at the stake, fees paid to those involved in hunting, capturing, and executing witches; materials, components, and implements of torture used for such purposes, a search for the psychological motivations behind the slaughter, and more. An excellent and scholarly contribution to Scottish and European history shelves.
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Product Description
A highly readable and absorbing anthology of traditional Scottish customs and rites of passage, Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave draws upon a broad range of literary and oral sources. Scotland has been fortunate to have written accounts of intrepid early travellers such as Martin Martin, Edward Burt and John Lane Buchanan, and extracts from their writing are found alongside modern interviews made by Margaret Bennett and researchers from the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University. This expanded edition includes a large amount of new material. The result is a detailed and comprehensive picture of social behaviour in Scotland over the last 400 years. The book is divided into three sections, each covering a stage in the cycle of life: Childbirth and infancy; Love, courtship and marriage; Death The first edition was originally published by Polygon and was joint runner-up of the 1993 Katharine Briggs Folklore Award. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Dull, boring, repetitive
I picked up this book because i am traveling to Scotland in the fall and i wanted to go deep into the Scots culture.Sadly, this book was basically a waste of time.The only thing the author does is interview later generations of Scots to know about what are the customs in Scotland.The book becomes an endless sea of paragraphs just repeating what the other paragraph stated.Basically, what you read it just old people recalling the same events and rituals with minor variations which makes for a very boring reading.The author fails to try to understand where those rituals and traditions came from.She fails to go deep into what this traditions and customs reflect on the whole country.Is just a dull collection of repetitive stories.

Too much doesn't go far.
The book DID provide a lot of insightful information. Margaret Bennet certainly used her resources well, however, I felt there was just too much information in a single book. The anecdotes were educational and humorous. The general structure of the pages gave the appearance of repetition and the paragraphs tended to make the reader start looking for a break. While I applaude Mrs. Bennett for her presentation of the customs I sought, I was disappointed in it. Based upon my experience, I could not recommendthe book.

Wow
This is fascinating. I love the details of everyday life down to the most ordinary things. A fascinating look at our own lives if we lived them in Scotland. Makes me want to visit there.

Accessible, comprehensive book about Scottish life and beliefs
This book is the real deal - it's based on multiple conversations with real Scottish people, who shared their most intimate life stories as well as the stories of their parents, grandparents and earlier ancestors.Anyone who wants to truly "get" Scottish culture (which has changed, of course, but still reflects its history), needs to add this book to the library.

Scottish Customs: From the Cradle to the Grave
Scottish Customs: From The Cradle To The Grave

Thebest bookfor my needs. ... Read more

Product Description
INTRODUCTION. It is only within comparatively recent years that the homely stories in the mouths of the country-people have been constituted a branch of learning, and have had applied to them, as such, the methods and the terminology of science. No doubt a very noteworthy gain to knowledge has resulted from this treatment,-a curious department of research has been opened up, and light has been cast upon various outside things of greater importance than the subject of study itself. But, side by side with this gain to knowledge, is there not, involved in the method of treatment indicated, a loss to the stories themselves? Classified, tabulated, scientifically named, they are no longer the wild free product of Nature that we knew and loved:-they are become, so to speak, a collection of butterflies in a case, an album of pressed wild flowers. No doubt they are still very interesting, and highly instructive; but their poetry, their brightness, the fragrance which clung about them in their

Table of Contents

CONTENTS; TAB*; Introduction 7; The Three Green Men of Glen Nevis 85; NURSERY STORIES-; The Story of the White Pet 67; The Milk-White Doo 71; The Croodin Doo 74; M The Cattie Sits in the Kiln-Ring " 75; Marriage of Robin Redbreast and the Wren 77; The Tempted Lady 79; The Fauee Knight and the Wee Boy 61; The Strange Visitor 83; Rasbin-Coatie 86; STORIES OF ANIMALS-; The Fox Outwitted 00; The Fox troubled with Fleas 01; The Fox and the Bag-pipes 01; The Fox'b Stratagem 01; The Fox and the Wrens 02; The Fox and the Cock 03; How the Wolf lost his Tail 03; The Frog and the Crow 04; The Grouse Cock and his Wife 95; The Eagle and tha Wren 90; The Wren's Presumption 0B; The Two Foxes 06; The Bee and the MouBe 97; The Two Mice 98; Alexander Jones 09; 3; 428140; 4; CONTENTS; FAIRY TALES-; vAtr*; The Fairies of Scotland 108; The Fairy and the Miller's Wife 110; Sir Godfrey Macculloch 112; The Laird o* Co' 118; Habitrot' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Highly Recommended!! You must check it out!!
Wonderful fairy tales. All the sweeter, knowing that some or all of it might be true! ... Read more

Product Description
Discover the old folklore of Western Scotland. Even at the turn of the 19th century, Scots kept alive a rich trove of superstitions and beliefs, from cradle to grave. In the pages of this classic volume of lore, readers can discover a wealth of crafted charms, folk-medicine, fortune-telling, second sight as well as the eerie threats of witchcraft that worried local men and women around Glasgow. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a collection of Scottish fairy tales, folk tales and legends, which have been passed on from generation to generation, and have been brought together in this one volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Facinating
This book is delightful!
I have never heard any of these tales, so it was a new and fun experience.
...A small glimpse into another culture.I only wish it were longer! ... Read more

Product Description

"We, the readers and students of literature, have been hijacked. The literary critics, our teachers, those assassins of culture, have put us up against the wall and held us captive." So begins Jonah Raskin's The Mythology of Imperialism. When first published in 1971, this book was nothing short of a call to arms, an open revolt against the literary establishment. In his critique of five well-known British writers—Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, and Joyce Cary—Raskin not only developed the model for a revolutionary anti-imperialist criticism, but, through this book's influence on Edward Said, helped usher in the field of postcolonial studies.

Nearly four decades later, The Mythology of Imperialism is all the more relevant. Its readings of British literature still offer bold and original insight into the relationship between text, artist, and historical context. But, perhaps more crucially, this book sends a revolutionary message to all readers and students of literature. Against much of today's postcolonialism—diluted by postmodern obfuscation and largely detached from its historical roots—Raskin locates the center of his anti-imperialist criticism in the anti-imperialist struggle itself and takes his cues not from "the assassins of culture" in the academy but from the national liberation movements of his time.

Written with absorbing passion and machete-sharp analysis, this new edition of The Mythology of Imperialism includes the original text, a new introduction and afterword by the author, and a preface by Bruce Robbins.

Customer Reviews (2)

A core addition to any collection focusing on British literature
How does the classic literature of Britain's imperial era come into play in today's world? "The Mythology of Imperialism: A Revolutionary Critique of British Literature and Society in the Modern Age" was first published in 1971, but today it still holds much ground as Britain and its former colonies continue to grow more distant from the principles of the Empire, as author Jonah Raskin predicted almost forty years ago. His work is a must read for anyone evaluating and criticizing modern English literature in comparison to the literature of the empire. "The Mythology of Imperialism" is a core addition to any collection focusing on British literature.

An inspiring, invigorating look at British writers of the Imperialist period through the eyes of a revolutionary.
I've been wanting to read this book, long out of print, since I found it mentioned in Edward Said's Culture and Imperialism.Said singled out Jonah Raskin's The Mythology of Imperialism as one of the few books that understood the connection between literature and imperialism.The book delivers on this promise.

Writing as a student for students, Raskin arms himself with the revolutionary philosophies of Castro, Mao, Minh and Debray against the literary and intellectual establishment of his time.As a student of British literature, Raskin felt it was unacceptable in the late 1960s to still be studying only white, male British writers, whose works had helped to prop up the imperialist value system of the late 19th and early 20th century.Moreover, he found his teachers (and revered critics like T.S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis) to still be entrenched in these values, particularly in his hometown of New York.In fact, as he explains in his new introduction, the publishing of this book (by Random House, no less), hurt rather than helped his chance at a tenured faculty position.This irony is compounded by the fact that in the UK, where Raskin completed the dissertation that would serve as the basis for this book, he found his professors to be more open to his radical theories about British literature than in the USA.It turns out Raskin was ahead of his time, writing about colonialism and post-colonialism years before it earned its place in the universities; The Mythology of Imperialism predates Said's landmark book on the subject, Orientalism, by a decade.

The book begins with what Raskin calls a "clarion call to arms," an introduction full of poetic vigor that outlines the radical philosophical framework of the book.Raskin's mission is to discuss the works of writers like Kipling, Conrad, Forster, and Lawrence in order to show to what degree they are either on the side of imperialism or on the side of revolution. The book itself is an exciting mix of culture, politics and literature.Raskin's is not the tone of the sedentary literature critic/student, and he isn't neutral; on the contrary, he is perfectly comfortable praising or criticizing sacred figures of British literature.His non-academic style is as irreverent as his beliefs, and the lack of footnotes makes him simultaneously accessible and anti-establishment.In addition to its iconoclastic, eye-opening literary criticism, I found The Mythology of Imperialism to be an invaluable survey of major and minor works of authors who underscored belief systems for generations of students from the elementary to the university level.The book has inspired me, as a graduate student, to read these and other texts in order to make my own large scale critiques.

I can understand why tenured professors and the literary establishment balked at Raskin's book.Not only is he promoting cultural and academic revolution, he also writes as if his was the last word on the subject.At times, I was put off by his cocksure tone, and I often felt like I missed a more academic edge.But largely I attribute this to my own conventionalism.Raskin questions why we venerate certain authors and their canonical texts and why we confine them to what he calls the "literary museum," rather than critically examine and judge their social and political implications.These questions may be common now, but they were revolutionary in the 1960s, as was Raskin's uncompromising ethical stance that writers should be socially conscious and revolutionaries themselves.I hope his message of revolution resonates with today's students and reinvigorates the literary community in a time of rehabilitated political and cultural conservatism.
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Customer Reviews (7)

Excellent overview
This book provides a general overview and synthesis of various topics in Highland folklore.The book covers ideas on witchcraft, death omens, second sight, the pagan survivals in festivals, etc.Each chapter brings together tales from other sources, the author's own experiences, and some discussion of related topics.

While the book is short, it provides a synthesis not found in mere collections of superstitions and folk-practices, and Dr Ross brings to the work her expertise in the study of pre-Christian Britain and Scotland.The analysis helps to provide a great deal of depth that might otherwise be missing.

Highly recommended.

Brief but inclusive, with some new information. Not the most useful on the subject, but recomended.
A brief but inclusive text, Folklore of the Scottish Highlands provides exactly that: and overview of clan lore, information on second sight, witchcraft, social customs, life and death, and seasonal cycles all as they related to the customs and folklore of the Scottish Highlands. For those that have done other research on traditional Celtic/Scottish culture and religions, much of Ross's text will be familiar as her sources include Carmichael and Campbell, two of the most important authors in the field. Ross does, however, narrow down the field of study to just the highlands, making this a useful resource for the reader interested in localized information. Her information on seasonal religious practices is particularly useful.

The book's first section, "Clan Lore," is specific to the Scottish Highlands and unlike anything I've seen in books on this and similar topics. Ross connects fairly ancient practices to fairly modern practices, in part through the clan system. She also discusses the primary attributions and functions of the clan, and how these attributions interact with religion and folklore. This section will be particularly useful to the reader interested in narrowing his research to a more specific location. It does, however, cross over some traditional boundaries in time and practice, and so it needs to be read carefully and with a grain of salt.

Much of the rest of the book will be familiar to those that have read Campbell and Carmichael, and Ross fails to add much in the way of new or insightful commentary. She does, however, restrict her purview to the highlands, again making the book useful to the reader who wishes to localize his study. The section on witchcraft, while definitely folklore inspired/corrupted by Christianity, is more complete than corresponding sections in similar texts. Ross also include a handful of illustrations of varying usefulness that are scattered throughout the text.

As mentioned, the section of seasonal and religious practices is defiantly the most useful and complete of the book. Unlike many authors in the same field, Ross does a more than adequate job of summarizing various sources and practices into a coherent text on each of the subjects she talks about. This will help the reader put other research into context and gain a greater understanding on seasonal/religious practices in Scotland as a whole. All in all, I do recommend this book, but not very highly. It is an interesting and fast read with a few useful sections, but on the whole it lacks the depth, analysis, and new content of similar books by authors in the field. It's a good book to borrow or to wait to buy, and I would recommend other books and authors ahead of it.

Great Info, Enjoyable read!
This is an excellent book, especially if you are writing a book set in the Highlands and need cultural information that is often left out of history books.It was very interesting and enjoyable to read (not stuffy).The most informative book on customs/culture of the Highlands I've found.

An excellent introduction on Highland lore
Anne Ross gives a wonderful introduction to the lore of the Scottish Highlands and the Isles.She covers Clan lore, Second Sight and the Seer, Witchcraft both black and white, Folk cures, meaning of omens and social customs. The covers the festivals dates through the year and gives you a nifty list of Folk Museums, with drawings and maps to aid the readers unfamiliar with Scotland.Gaelic speaking, Celtic scholar and archaeologists, she brings her knowledge to bear on looking at death rights, and try to remove the veneer of Christianity and look at the origins in Pagan customs that date back to the dawn of time.

Its a small book only 170 pages, but she does a wonderful job bringing this part of All Things Scottish into the spotlight.

Highly Recommended.

Beautiful, Mystical & Very Revealing!
Like a beautiful fruit, what lies beneath the peel is most revealing and rewarding. And, no one has done a better job of revealing old Scottish customs and traditions than the native Gaelic speaking Celtic Scholar and Archeologist, Anne Ross.

Dr. Ross takes an in-depth look at the beliefs and customs of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, stemming from pre-Christian customs and surviving for centuries through oral tradition, Christianized hymns and incantations, and folklore.

This text covers the mysticism of Scottish clan lore and it's importance in Scottish society, the Seers and second sight, witchcraft and magic, cures, omens, taboos, social customs, reverence toward life/death, calendar festivals and other daily practices and rites, all stemming from the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

One thing to remember about this book is that many of the sources are Christian in nature and that influence is readily seen in Scottish tradition and folklore, but the author peels away many of the Christian customs to reveal a system of beliefs and practices most commonly associated with the pre-Christian (Pagan) era.

The depths which she reveals in Scottish traditions are quite amazing, and her analysis makes this a thoroughly interesting book, from cover to cover. ... Read more

Product Description
From the ancient misty Highlands of Scotland to modern-day America come the secrets of
solitary Witchcraft practice. The author of Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft introduces
"PectiWita," or the craft of the Picts. Learn the history of these mysterious early Keltic people,
their origins, beliefs, and celebrations. This book also explores the magic, sacred tools, herbal
lore, song and dance, and recipes of the Scottish PectiWita tradition.

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Customer Reviews (24)

Simplicity of Pectiwita
This is one of my favorite books from Buckland.I may not agree with everything in this book but the overall practice of Pectiwita is the best.What strikes me is the simplicity of worship and ritual.Instead of the 20 or so ritual tools of regular wicca practitioners, Pecti only have 3 main tools with other optional.I have been in and out of wicca books and practices and asked the question "Do I really need all this ritual stuff?"The answer is no.Grab yourself a Dirk, Staff, and Keek-Stane and get to worship anywhere you please.

Classic Buckland at his best!!!
This is one of my favorite books.Many years ago I got a copy and carried it around with me when I started my "personal spiritual journey".After a while and lots of searching and trying new things it was lost. The other day I purchased another copy because I think that it is the best book I have found on solitary practice. As a person who likes the outdoors and not having to carry a large bunch of tools for personal rituals, this style of spirituality fits me best. It has the basics of energy work and ritual and is easy to use and understand.The pictures and illustrations are very good and instructions on making and consecrating tools are clear and concise. The book also covers outdoor survival skills and living with the land.

If you want to develop an intimate connection with nature,and be able to safely spend time there, you should give this book a try.

Thanks Mr. Buckland for a great book!

A Ficitonal and Manufactured Tradition, but Exceptional and Worthwhile
Buckland, from all evidence, has manufactured this so-called "secret" tradition. Pulling from various sources, he invents the "true and secret" Pictish faith of the Scottish highlands. It's all a work of fiction, and a hodgepodge of numerous Shamanic and Wiccan traditions culled and compiled to form a more hard-core, nature based Wiccan faith and add another feather to Buckland's cap in a perhaps self serving fashion by passing all this off as genuine scholarship and an "inside track" through secret contacts within the occult community.

All this said, in the end, who cares? Buckland has never been one of my favorite authors, but he manages to make something genuinely beautiful from the various threads of Wiccan faith he pulls together. The result is a genuinely and overwhelmingly nature based faith, something previously lacking in Wicca, and it's a quite elegant and breathtaking fusion of the shamanic and Wiccan traditions into one package.

Of particular interest is the "wilderness survivalist" aspect of the approach which Buckland invents. This immersion approach is something heretofore lacking in Wicca, and I think many Wiccans could benefit from supplementing their faith with this approach to some degree. Nothing encourages respect for nature like allowing oneself to be subject to its full force and authority. Having been active in Scouting in the past, most particularly the Order of the Arrow, as well as being inclined to venture off into the woods on my own as a youngster for impromptu camping trips alone, I can assure you that the majesty of the natural world was never more evident than when one is sleeping open and exposed in its embrace, or when one has to perform such minor but (in this day and age) seemingly "lifesaving" tasks as starting a fire without matches and tinder.

There's also a minimalist approach to the tradition - very few tools are relied upon, and those that there are appear to have highly versatile functions. You don't have athames and chalices which incur the same degree of veneration as a samurai gives his sword, but actual tools which function above and beyond "Picti-Witish" ritual. The main "tool", for example, is basically your walking stick, along with your "dirk", basically a knife which is used for such utilitarian purposes as cutting meat and self defense. There's also the "keek-stane", essentially a scrying mirror - an odd addition, to be sure, when a consecrated pool of water would be more appropriate - but the book isn't perfect.

Also of note is the solitary nature of the tradition, more in keeping with the shamanic roots which appear to lie at the heart of the invention. Buckland's creation is all about communion with and meditation in nature, and that's always best in small groups of no more than three, at the most. The "Picti-Wita" tradition is best explored individually and alone.

It's easy to forget that Gerald Gardner also "invented" Wicca many, many years ago, pulling from traditions of the Golden Dawn. To give the faith credibility, he gave it a long lineage, handed down over generations from his ancestors. Buckland no doubt rationalizes his own approach in similar fashion.Like Gardner, Buckland may have lied about his sources and about the tenure of the tradition. In the end, while I'd give the author one star for his chicanery, his creation is breathtaking and, hopefully, enduring, and satisfies a void in the tradition that needed to be filled, and therefore gets five. He brings together Shamanic and Wiccan lore in a stunning package and, in this work more than any other, has finally left the indelible mark he has so long sought.

Well Done!
As a daughter of a MacLeod I was thrilled to find this book. I have searched for a book such as this. This is well written,detailed and not bogged down with so much technical background information one looses interest after the frist chapter. Many books on Magickare geared for the novice and it is refreshing to find that this bookaddresses the practioner. I have learned a great deal about the magick of my heritage, and in an informative and hands on manner.

Take it with a grain of salt
The opinions on this book appear to be many and varied, from wild support to outright rejection.I would advise the curious reader:make up your own mind.Like many of Llewellyn's books its historical accuracy is questionable, but there is some truth to be found in the general folk-lore.I would reccommend it for any beginning pagan like myself, as a jumping-off point for research and for helping to find one's "true" path.Good luck! ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1977 and now reprinted in its original form, A Source-book of Scottish Witchcraft has been the most authoritative reference book on Scottish Witchcraft for almost thirty years. It has been invaluable to the specialist scholar and of interest to the general reader. It provides, but provides much more than, a series of lists of the 'names and addresses' of long-dead witches. However, although it is widely quoted and held in high esteem, few copies were ever printed and most are owned by libraries or similar institutions. Until now, it has been difficult to obtain and even more difficult to buy. In 1938, George F. Black, a Scotsman who was in charge of New York Public Library, published A Calendar of Cases of Witchcraft in Scotland 1510-1727. This was a fairly comprehensive compilation of brief accounts of references, in printed sources, to Scottish witchcraft cases. The Source-book built upon this study but went beyond it by including, through an examination of actual ancient manuscripts, information on previously unpublished cases.It also presented the material in a more systematic way in relation, where known, to the names of the accused witches, their sex, their fate, the place of the case, its date and the type of court that dealt with it. Some such information is presented in the form of tables. Transcriptions of documents pertaining to witchcraft trials- such as examples of the evidence of supposed witnesses, and other salient legal documents - including, for instance, an ancient account of when and why the testimony of female witnesses might be legally acceptable in Scottish courts - are also presented. ... Read more

Product Description
"The early Scottish West Texans are the real reason for these stories," says nationally award-winning teller and performer Rosanna Herndon. "I wanted others to know them. Their unpretentious lives marked a clear path for me and for generations to come."

Herndon, who has been telling stories to audiences for more than a quarter of a century, had her first audiotapes released in the mid-1990s, at which time her daughter began urging her to write them down. Through her own family tales, Herndon began to study how such stories contribute to listeners' concepts of self and family, what they reveal about communication patterns within families, and how they reflect who we are and who we wish to become.

The eighteen stories collected here cover several generations of Scottish West Texans. Some are tales of Herndon's own ancestors; others are of extended family and friends. They tell of life experiences that measured character and produced a distinctive toughness of spirit. Others are personal narratives of more recent history but also regional, reflecting a culture peculiar to the southwestern United States and specifically Herndon's own West Texas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Storytelling
Texas Tartans -author realises complexity of her ancestry
Sam and the Apples - funny. Surprising to know that sometimes married women are referred to as Miss in South.
the fugitive Doctor - Good Nature Person 1 with a dark blot from past
Safe from Wolves - of bare times
Chocolate - a stroll down the memory lane to a prank name
Safety Pins and Polka Dots - stage moment. Everybody has embarassing stories, thats nothing new but the author has the small fortune of it getting overridden
The Sound of Clocks - grandfather (Good Nature Person 2)
Different Granmothers - Good Nature Persons (4 and 5) .. lovely ladies to know of
The Song -a father musically handicapped but skilled in therapeutical musical, appreciated by animals.
The Boy- Good Nature Person 6
Balmorhea, Summer 1939 - Even to imagine author's childhood summer of seeing 'a red fox escaping throufh a field of alfalfa and an oval bed of rose quartz crystals' feels rich in experience.
The StoneMason - redefining wealth, adding meaning to things experienced in childhood.

Eighteen true stories from generations of Scottish West Texans
The Line from Here to There: A Storyteller's Scottish West Texas collects eighteen true stories from generations of Scottish West Texans. Some tales are about the ancestors of author and award-winning storyteller Rosanna Taylor Herndon; others are about extended family and friends of the Herndon family. All are steeped in the unique brand of West Texan regional culture that celebrates determination and the will to meet all challenges. Especially recommended for Western lovers who tire of fiction and are excited by true tales of American character.
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Product Description
For lovers of music and poetry the legendary figure of Orpheus probably suggests a romantic ideal. But for the Renaissance he is essentially a political figure. Dealing with plays, poems, songs, and the iconography of musical instruments, Robin Headlam Wells reexamines the myth, central to the Orpheus story, of the civilizing power of music and poetry. In doing so he acknowledges a debt to the New Historicism and its recovery of political meanings that traditional historical scholarship has sometimes been guilty of obscuring. But he is also critical of certain faulty premises in New Historicist criticism that have led to some radical misinterpretations of the period. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Delightful !
This is a delightful collection of oral ballads recorded in printed form for historical preservation. But one can't help but feel the music of the language, preserved much like what one finds in Burns' poetry.The "songs" reveal the story and focus of historical Scotland --- the battles, the border skirmishes, the distrust of the English.They also depict the anguishes and joys of lords, lasses, ladies, and lairds in love, death, scandal, and betrayal.There is magic in the demons, devils,and elves, but delight throughout.
If I were to change one thing, it would be to present the notes at the end as a preface to each of the respective ballads.The current publication appears to be directed towards those who are already familiar with its contents.The audience is far larger.It encompasses all those searching for an understanding of Scottish life and culture.It has been 200 years since my Scottish ancestors left its shores, but there is something in my genes that still sings with these ballads! ... Read more

Product Description
The Gaelic language is enjoying an energetic renaissance in Scotland. This anthology contains selections of the best work by the country's most acclaimed poets: Sorley Maclean, George Campbell Hay, Iain Chrichton Smith, Derick Thomason and Donal MacAulay. Designed as much for English readers throughout the world as for readers of Gaelic, the poems are presented with line-for-line translations. ... Read more

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Fairies, white ladies, tortured souls, poltergeists, malevolent phantoms, hideous creaturesoScotland has them all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

GLAISTIGS, GHOULIES AND BOGLES GENERALLY
This is a tourists' guide to haunted places in Scotland, not a book of ghost stories as we would normally understand the expression. It tells us, sometimes in rough summary sometimes in a certain amount of detail, what the nature of the apparition is in each case, but it has no pretension or ambition to be literary. There is a brief introduction saying nothing much, and the stories are grouped, reasonably up to a point, into categories. The categories in practice don't seem terribly well thought-out to me. To some extent they are geographical, for instance there is a section on Edinburgh but Edinburgh ghosts reappear in later chapters dedicated to pubs, to theatres and to private residences. Some categories relate to the type of apparition, some to the type of location, the types of apparition are not very clearly or consistently differentiated, and the sole chapter where I have personal knowledge of one of the issues is the most unsatisfactory of all.

I have no experience whatsoever of the preternatural, but I have good knowledge of one instance of a poltergeist. This poltergeist incident is categorically true, and you will find it related here on pages 37/38 as The Poltergeist of Sauchie. As usual with the more reliably recorded cases of poltergeist manifestations, there was inexplicable movement, apparently telekinetic, of inanimate objects, and these abnormal phenomena centred on an adolescent. I do not believe so much as 0.002% of the reports I read of `ghosts', but poltergeist occurrences quite simply do take place. What I refuse to accept is any classification of them as preternatural. There are more things just on earth than are accounted for in our philosophy to date, and this is one of them. It doesn't seem to me to belong in the same chapter as the story of Andrew Mackie's House, the longest narrative in the entire book. This tale is a ghost-story and a half, and the linking motif, namely the unnatural movement of the inanimate objects, is almost the least of it.

Viewing the book as a catalogue, I am simply in no position to assess it for either completeness or accuracy, but surely there must be enough and more than enough sites listed to satisfy the most dedicated and determined amateur searcher after Caledonian paranormalia. The editor very sensibly refuses to deny categorically every report, because I believe neither she nor I are in any position to do so. Some of it is legend, losing nothing through time and commerce no doubt, and some of it is pretty obvious romancing. For what it is, the book is quite good value and very properly it has a short chapter on the distinctively Scottish phenomenon of `second sight'. Another couple of items relating to ghost-trains were of particular interest to myself-- I would have been amazed if there had not been such reports at the site of the original Tay Bridge so famously destroyed in 1879, but the phantom conveyance at Dunphail was one I hadn't previously heard of, and any property developers in the area had better be careful about building over the old track-bed.

It would not be for me to `recommend' such a publication, but I am very pleased to have bought it. If you wish to use it as a cut-price Baedeker in a specialised field, I shall be there vicariously with you in spirit (no pun intended). ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of Scottish folk tales featuring silkies, the seal people who can take human shape. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

If you are of Scottish descent or want to learn more about Scotland, read this
I think this is a really beautiful collection of authentic Scottish crofters' stories.Those not used to reading Scottish folk tales will probably find the stories repetitive at times, but the repetition is important - these themes were constants in the peoples' lives.It seems that Mr. Williamson did a good job of capturing the real stories and the real people who told them.

Scottish Tales sure to please
Tales of the Selkies, half human, half seal people are woven in Scottish myth and lore - even in my own family.So I was delighted to find this wonderful collection of short tales about the Selkie collected by Duncan Williamson.

Just wish the tales were presented in a bit more depth.

Highly recommended to those wish pure Scottish Lore. ... Read more