The story of the Highland clans is a gripping one, full of celebrated names & heroic deeds. It is also, as Alistair Moffat reveals, the story of a fearless people, shaped by the unique traditions & landscape of the Scottish Highlands. Here, he traces the history of the clans from their Celtic origins to the coming of the Romans, through the great battles of Bannockburn & Flodden, to the Clearances & the present day. The images bring the stories to life with historical portraits & depictions of significant events such as the battles or the Highland dances, to name but a few. The story of the clans is also about the pain of leaving, with the great emigrations to the United States, Canada, Australia & New Zeal&. Complete with a clan map & an alphabetical list of the clans of the Scottish Highlands, this is a must for anyone interested in the history of Scotl&. ...

In a new edition of this classic book, introduced by the world-renowned Gaelic poet Sorley Maclean, the late Calum I. Maclean, a Gaelic-speaking Highlander, interprets the traditional background, culture & ways of life of his native country. Calum`s formal training in folk culture & the depth of his local knowledge make this book truly outstanding
- it is written by a Highlander from the inside. Many books on the Highlands have been penned by outsiders with an uncritical appreciation of the scenery & only the most superficial knowledge of the Gaelic language & culture. By contrast, Maclean brought informed attitudes & sympathetic opinions. He was concerned not so much with places, beauty spots & scenery as with the Highlanders in their own self-created environment. He writes in terms of individuals & suggests reasons why Highland culture is unique in the world
- it is something that, if lost, can never be recovered or recreated.

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Improve your driving standard & stay safe on the road with this comprehensive guide to traffic regulations & laws. The AA has an excellent track record with driving test titles & is the biggest seller of books in the genre after the Driving Standards Agency. With information on roads & road markings, motorways, traffic signs, documentation, the road user & the law, this is essential reading for all drivers
- not just those learning to drive.
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This book is an essential reading for all road-users in Engl&, Scotland & Wales. This current edition of the only official Highway Code contains the very latest rules of the road. Many of these rules are legal requirements & must be adhered to, in order to avoid penalty
- fines, penalty points, disqualification or even prison. The latest rules include a reference to the legislation that creates the offence. The Official Highway Code reflects the most up-to-date legislation that road-users must adhere to, advice on road safety & best practice. The Official Highway Code is meant for life & not just for learners. For over 75 years, The Highway Code has been the official guide to using the roads safely & legally. It has contributed enormously to road safety & reliable road transport. However, every day, on average around seven people are killed & around 70 are seriously injured in road collisions. So it is as important as ever that all road users, including drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, horse riders & pedestrians, should update their knowledge of The Highway Code. It

Includes:: key features such as: latest rules
- revised in 2007; a section on rules for users of powered wheelchairs & powered scooters; a Safety Code for New Drivers, giving advice to help newly qualified drivers get through the first twelve months after passing the driving test, when they are most vulnerable, as safely as possible; latest legislation that has been introduced on subjects such as vehicle emissions & smoking in vehicles that are workplaces; & information about stopping/directing powers that have been given to VOSA officers & Highways Agency Traffic Officers. It also
Includes:: information about the latest road initiatives of which people might not be aware (High occupancy vehicle lanes, Home Zones & Quiet Lanes, Active Traffic Management Schemes); emphasis on courtesy, attitude, awareness, & consideration of other road users, particularly those more vulnerable; & information for all road users on how they should act or react in a variety of situations. Much of the advice in The Highway Code has changed & evolved over time by necessity. The basic advice in a Highway Code of 30 years ago may not be applicable today, given increased traffic volumes; larger, faster vehicles; more complex road layouts; updated/new road signage & markings; & many other factors. All road users have a responsibility to ensure their knowledge is updated, in order to adjust their awareness & actions appropriately, for the benefit of others & for their own safety. As it says in the introduction to the Code
- ' Cutting the number of deaths & injuries that occur on our roads every day is a responsibility we all share'.





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Between the end of the nineteenth century & the Second World War Macmillan published a much-loved & extremely successful series of books under the title of Highways & Byways. In them, the authors took readers on a delightful guided tour of the country, county by county, pointing out places of interest, key historical events & local lore & legend. Now, Macmillan is reissuing
- in one beautifully designed volume
- a selection of those highways & byways, which affords contemporary readers both a charming period piece & a wonderful glimpse of the very best of Britain.

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In ” The Hill of Kronos”, Peter Levi paints a radiant portrait of the Greece he came to know through a lifetime of exploration. As a young scholar he sought out its ancient spirit, the keys to its mythology & civilisation, in its ruined cities & majestic mountains. Later, as a priest working as a diplomat & a friend of the oppressed, he lived in Athens through the dark days of the dictatorship. Then the sinews of political life led back to secret alliances made during the civil war & the earlier occupation of Greece, back to murder, starvation & corpse-filled quarries. Lastly, it is seen through the mature eyes of a family man, with the ripened sensibility of an acclaimed poet. This is a precious fusion of experience, a gift of insight from one philhellene to all those who have come to love Greece. ...

During the three-month-long expedition, Hillary & his two companions skied 900 miles across the forbidding & beautiful expanse of Antarctica to the South Pole. Early on, the relationships in the little tent disintegrated to acrimony & distrust, & exploded on their return, damaging friendships & resulting in profound soul-searching. This is the story of that journey: a chronicle of profound isolation, of great stamina & skill, of the mental & emotional toll exacted by travel in extreme environments. It is also a meditation on a lifetime spent on the edge, a memory book of more than 30 expeditions in the Himalayas, the Andes, the Arctic & the Antarctic. It tells of triumphant adventures
- travelling with his father, Sir Edmund Hillary, & Neil Armstrong to the North Pole, climbing Everest twice
- & bitter tragedies, like the loss of his mother & sister in a plane crash in the Himalayas, & the shattering K2 climb where Peter was the only one of eight climbers (including Alison Hargreaves) to survive. In the Hillary Steps is a radical departure from the adventure genre, a literate & evocative tribute to the crafts of polar travel & mountaineering, a Shackleton-like tale of endurance, & a compelling contemplation on a life of adventure & accomplishment.

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”I got the impression that they could imagine only two reasons why a woman should choose to settle down in Bruach: either that she was running away from the police, or escaping from a lurid past.” Neither reason applies to Lillian Beckwith, in these classic stories based on her convalescence on an isolated Hebridean island where `even the sheeps on the hills is lonely`. On the island of Bruach she observes, muses at & joins the native crofters in their unique rhythm of life; where friends fistfight in the evening & discuss bruises the next morning; where the taxi driver is also the lorry driver, coal merchant & undertaker; where the locals don`t remove their hats during a funeral so their heads won`t get cold; & where the post office`s `opening hours` fit around the daily milking of cows & not the other way round. In a series of vividly drawn sketches, taking in birth, death, marriage & the seasons of life, Lillian Beckwith`s writing is shot through with warm, cosy affection & droll wit. ...

For four months & 500 miles Colin Thubron walked through the mountains of Lebanon, following tracks & rivers. His journey was not only a survey of a remarkable country, but a quest for the gods & divinities of the region
- Astarte & Adonis, who held the secrets of death & rebirth in the ancient cults of Lebanon. He visited almost every place of cultural importance, & lived with the people along his way, recording a country of outstanding natural scenery, rich with a unique medley of peoples & religions. The Hills of Adonis is both a travel book & a personal journal; for the quest is a search for meaning, a reflection on faith & reason & a poem on the joy & complexity of living.
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Around the well-trodden mountains of the Lake District & the Yorkshire Dales, the lower heights & foothills form some of Britains finest summits. The colourful wooded, cragged hills & moorland of the forgotten part of Lakeland provide magnificent views of their higher neighbours, whilst the unspoilt hills of the Isle of Man form a huge tract of walking country. This volume describes the ascent of each of the distinct summits across the region that are below 2000 feet in altitude. With route maps & photographs, the walks in this book range from gentle strolls to rewarding hikes. It is divided into five sections, each one beginning with an explanation of the area's geology to enhance walkers' understanding of the landscape they are exploring. It also contains an introduction & advice on footpaths & rights of way, plus tips on hill safety & conditions for both the novice & experienced walker alike. It provides information on the hill names, details of local accommodation & a list of contacts. ...