Books from Birlinn and Polygon

A groundbreaking new study on the discovery of America which preceded the voyage of Christopher Columbus.

In Tales from the Tent, Jess Smith – Scottish traveller, hawker, gypsy, ’gan-about’ and storyteller – continues the unforgettable story of her life on the road. Unable to adjust to settled life working in a factory after leaving school, she finds herself drawn once again to the wild countryside of Scotland.

Just Daft is the story of one of Scotland’s greatest comedians, Chic Murray, from his birth in Greenock in 1919, charting his rise through his amateur beginnings in the 1930s, all the way to his 1956 performance in the Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium and his appearances on the big screen.

In Life's a Cavalcade, Glen looks back over an eventful and varied life, and his career as the host of one of STV’s most popular programmes ever. Glen Michael’s Cavalcade played to millions of viewers during its 26-year run.

In the third and final book of Jess Smith’s autobiographical trilogy, Jess traces her eventful life with Dave and their three children, from their earliest years together.

Ciderland includes comprehensive summaries and descriptions of every cider and cider producer in the West Country and covers topics such as cider folk traditions and remedies, placing cider making firmly within the local culture.

The Kingdom of MacBrayne tells the story of David MacBrayne, his ships and his company, his predecessors, rivals and successors.

This book contains a collection of essays on the Irish in Scotland for almost 20 years. It provides a reassessment of the Irish immigrant experience and offers social, cultural and religious development of Scotland over the past several years.

This is the inside story of the sensational Alex Harvey. The book features interviews with Harvey’s widow, ex-band members and close friends and 12 pages of photos.

For the first time this hilarious book is available on audio CD. It is the essential guide to understanding the intricacies and nuances of one of Britian’s most colourful dialects by the multi-faceted comic actor and impressionist Stanley Baxter.

A diverse collection of stories gathered by singer, storyteller and author Sheila Stewart, one of the last in the line of Scotland’s travelling people.

Introduced and edited by Ted Cowan and Alan Riach of Glasgow University, this limited edition is not simply a beautiful book but the definitive edition of Burns masterpiece.

The 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns will be celebrated in 2009. Touched by Robert Burns is Andy Hall’s unique tribute, in words and photographs, to the great poet.

This high-quality limited edition is a reproduction of the first large-scale atlas of Scotland organised by county. It provides an invaluable and accurate picture of Scotland prior to the Clearances and is also a highly significant milestone in the history of mapping.

This first paperback edition charts the daring and pioneering contribution to global botany made by the great Scottish plant collectors of the 18th and 19th centuries. A fascinating insight into an extraordinary period of Scottish history.

Walter Reid brings together the result of recent research to create a powerful narrative that reveals how much time and energy Churchill devoted to fighting the war that was excluded from the official accounts: the war with the allies.

This book provides the first exhaustive study of the great Scottish exodus to Canada written in modern times. This book is essential reading for those who wish to understand why they came and the enormity of their achievements in Canada.

Written with full access to private letters, political papers, diaries, and family members, George Younger charts the fascinating and varied life of committed service of a man who was a senior figure in Scottish and UK public life for several decades.

Forty head-to-head discussions on golf’s most discussed talking points, from ‘Tiger Woods vs Jack Nicklaus’ to ‘Pull carts vs Carry bags’. It will appeal directly to every British golfer’s argumentative nature.

A remarkable historical set piece about a humpback whale that followed herring shoals into the Tay estuary, and travelled as far upstream as Dundee docks. It became an instant celebrity until it was mortally wounded during attempts to capture it.

An exclusive insight into Dario Franchitti’s career with comments from internationally renowned figures, including Jackie Stewart, Lois di Resta, Allan McNish and David Coulthard as well as Dario himself as he readies himself to take NASCAR by storm.

A no-nonsense autobiography by one of Scottish football’s greatest goalscorers. Find out the truth about the infamous Copenhagen nightclub and the incident that saw him banned from the Scotland squad.

The Lost City captures the unique cityscape and distinctive past of Old Aberdeen. It details the rich treasures of the burgh, with many illustrations drawn from the University’s library and museum collections, a number of which are reproduced for the first time.

La’s Orchestra Saves the World is another delightful story from Alexander McCall Smith, celebrating friendship and the healing power of music, told with the warmth and charm we’ve come to love from one of the nation’s favourite storytellers.

This is a story of the inhabitants of Lewis and Harris – a tale of a people as indomitable as their landscape and a faith as profound as the Hebridean sea.

Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica pays tribute to the men who fought with Hamish Henderson in the North African desert during the Second World War.

This is a new series of pocket books designed to introduce some of the wealth of the spoken and written word in Scotland to those who may not be familiar with them.

Lost Bristol is an exploration of Bristol’s hidden past, its ways of life, legends, relationship with the sea and its role in English history. The book includes some of the more famous aspects of the city’s past, as well as stories and information unknown even to most locals.

Birlinn Limited presents a new series of diaries. With beautiful John Kay etchings throughout, the desk diary records landmark dates and ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment. An ideal gift.

Lavishly illustrated throughout with stunning archive images, Elspeth Wills uncovers the human story behind the building of the Forth Bridge: the story of the Briggers. It is a story that has never been told before – of ordinary men working on an extraordinary structure in an often hostile and dangerous environment.