 Best Sellers | | Home Seasons on Harris: A Year in Scotland's Outer Hebrides | |
|  | |  | | | Seasons on Harris: A Year in Scotland's Outer Hebrides | | | | | SKU:
NU-GRD-00533761 | | In Stock | | Availability:
Usually ships in 1 business days | | Only 4 left in stock, order soon! | | | | | | The Outer Hebrides of Scotland epitomize the evocative beauty and remoteness of island life. The most dramatic of all the Hebrides is Harris, a tiny island formed from the oldest rocks on earth, a breathtaking landscape of soaring mountains, wild lunarlike moors, and vast Caribbean-hued beaches. This is where local crofters weave the legendary Harris Tweed—a hardy cloth reflecting the strength, durability, and integrity of the life there. In Seasons on Harris, David Yeadon, "one of our best travel writers" (The Bloomsbury Review), captures, through elegant words and line drawings, life on Harris—the people, their folkways and humor, and their centuries-old Norse and Celtic traditions of crofting and fishing. Here Gaelic is still spoken in its purest form, music and poetry ceilidh evenings flourish in the local pubs, and Sabbath Sundays are observed with Calvinistic strictness. Yeadon's book makes us care deeply about these proud islanders, their folklore, their history, their challenges, and the imperiled future of their traditional island life and beloved tweed. | | | |
List Price:
| $15.99 | |
Our Price:
| $11.99
& eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
| |
You Save:
| $4.00 (25%)
|
| | |
|
| | Product Details | | Author: | David Yeadon | | Paperback: | 432 pages | | Publisher: | Harper Perennial | | Publication Date: | July 03, 2007 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 006074183X | | Product Length: | 7.96 inches | | Product Width: | 5.46 inches | | Product Height: | 1.07 inches | | Product Weight: | 0.82 pounds | | Package Length: | 7.9 inches | | Package Width: | 5.3 inches | | Package Height: | 1.1 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.75 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 5 reviews |
| |
| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 5 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
An informative and enjoyable read Mar 04, 2009
By yankeeclipper
If the pace of David Yeadon's SEASONS ON HARRIS seems a bit measured to some reviewers here, it may only be because the book accurately reflects the pace of West Highland life. If a reader craves something faster, well, perhaps he should be reading about a different place.
For three years in the 1980s, I could see distant Harris, Lewis and the Shiants from my cottage doorstep on the Coigach peninsula (on rare days when the rainclouds parted). It is a spectacular part of the world, and Yeadon's book does justice to the islands and the strong characters who inhabit them.
The author's honest and extensive exploration of the island and its people will be useful to brave souls who venture beyond the boundaries of tartan kitsch to discover the real mystery and magic of the Outer Hebrides.
I had only two small quibbles with this otherwise delightful book. First, Yeadon's writing burdens the locals with quaint accents, while he records himself speaking flawless English. The Harris folk might have found his Yorkshire speech equally quaint, but would be too polite to caricature it. In the three years I lived in Scotland's gaeltacht, I became very much aware that I was living amongst a remarkably articulate race, and that I was the one who spoke with a quaint (American) dialect. So I would have preferred to read interviews less peppered with "ach weels" and "d'ye kens".
Second, the author's gourmet tastes led him to dwell overlong on Frenchified versions of Hebridean cuisine ("haggis flamed in whisky", "sea scallops seared in celle sur belle butter") more typical of tourist meals than honest islander fare. And somewhere he voices the peculiar notion that haggis is "prepared in a pig's bladder." Highland fare is quite delicious on its own, and really doesn't need such elaborations. Mind you, I wouldn't turn down an invitation to the author's own table, as he clearly knows his way around a gourmet kitchen.
But beyond these petty quibbles, SEASONS ON HARRIS is an informative and enjoyable read, and Yeadon's own illustrations capture the look and flavor of the place as beautifully as his words. For anyone thinking of visiting - or dreaming about - the magical Outer Hebrides, I highly recommend this book.
Jack Maloney, author, THE WEE MAD ROAD
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Patience pays off with fine sense of the Hebrides Apr 08, 2007
By Johanna Navarro
By the end I loved this book, but it is slow going in the beginning, and keeps to a very leisurely pace clear through. Mr. Yeadon does a fine job of describing many of the more notable characters in the area, and a superb job of describing this most beautiful of locations. I had just returned from Scotland when I read this book, and it made me want to hop right back on the plane, regardless of airport hassles, and return. However this is not a book for people looking for a tourist guide. More a meditation on the slow but rich life in the Outer Hebrides. Hence the pace of the book matches the pace of living described within.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Not Just for Scotland Lovers Jul 06, 2006
By James OReilly
"baboone"
David Yeadon has been composing beautiful hymns to remote places for many years, and here is another in a distinguished list of books he has written. If Seasons on Harris doesn't impel you to plan a trip to Scotland and more specifically the Outer Hebrides, well then, you should consider shopping for a tombstone. I understand the next in his "seasons" series will be on the Beara Peninsula in southern Ireland, and with a name like O'Reilly, I can't wait for that one.
6 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Fascinating subject, horrible writing Jul 04, 2007
By J. Tremonti
David Yeadon's book on his experiences in the Outer Hebrides is unfortunately rather dull. The style is bland, riddled with clichés, and the only truly interesting descriptions we get are in the form of quotations. There are some bright spots; his conversations with local residents are intriguing. I only wish that he would have allowed them to speak for themselves; virtually every interchange with the residents is punctuated with David's insipid observations and framed by his own rather portly ego.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Interesting place Apr 03, 2008
By bookworm
I'm a fan of all things Scottish, so I enjoyed this book. I love his descriptions of the simple pace of life and the beauty of the area. It could have been a bit less intrusive. So much recent writing is focused on the author's reactions to events and places. I would rather see the author just describe the events and places, and let the reader react for herself.
| |
| |
| |  | |  |
|
Recently Viewed | You may also like ... |
