Highlanders: A History of the Gaels

by John MacLeod

A history of the isles and glens of the Highlands of Scotland. Starting from a journey north to the author's home in the Western Isles, this book is a tour of the past, great and sad, of the Gaels of Scotland, and through the realities of the present.

Genres: History, Scotland, Nonfiction, European History

372 pages, Paperback

Published March 6, 1997

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author on goodreads by this name.

Reviews

[Regan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a highlander and Scottish romance fan (among my favorite authors are Kathleen Givens, Marsha Canham and Elizabeth Stuart). I wanted to have a history of the highlanders for background--and to understand my Scottish heritage better. I was prepared to slog through a dull history just to gain the knowledge. I was not prepared for an entertaining and fascinating look into the past of the highlanders. This is well worth a read no matter what your motivation. It's great history made relevant to us today. As an aside, I think this book should be a companion for Scottish romance books. It's that good.

Kudos to the author who makes the history interesting and relevant...and shows us why there is sometimes sadness when we view today's Scotland. I've traveled to Scotland more than once and felt that sadness. If the proud Scots had been allowed to develop on their own and govern themselves, and the English had not destroyed a way of life, we might have an even richer Scotland today. Certainly we would have more of the castles left. I have both Scottish and English blood so I'm not speaking only as a Scot. But I do regret what might have been for Scotland. And for the romance readers, perhaps if so many English had not intermarried with the Scots, we'd have taller, more rugged Scottish men today..no?

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the Gaels of Scotland who from the earliest times inhabited the Highlands of Scotland. This history takes us through the early days of the Gaels through Culloden and the Clearances through to the early 90's and the development of the Highlands as place where heavy industry such as oil and fisheries at the time of writing was in high demand. The book also highlights the importance of faith and religion that runs throughout the book. Well researched and written recommended reading if you want to learn more about Scotland and the Highlands in particular.

[E.A. West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlanders: A History of the Gaels is a well-written book filled with fascinating information about the history of the Scottish Highlands and its people. Much of the information focuses on the Western Highlands and islands, but it still gives the reader a feel for the tumultuous past that all of the Highlands endured. If you're looking for an interesting read about the history of the Western Highlands or the history of the Outer Isles, I highly recommend this book.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this to get an easy overview of Scottish history by someone who had credentials that would satisfy. The author is a reputable journalist who lives on Harriis - so, easy read, trustable facts. It satisfied the need to know roughly what happened and had lots of points from which I could continue deeper reading.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable history of the Highlanders. Of course to start from the time of the Vikings and before does mean that there is too much history to cover and the details can not really be expanded upon.

[Craig MacKinnon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers over 1000 years of history in the Highlands region of Scotland. As is implied by the title, this is a people's history - there is no geological/natural history of the Highlands, except where the land has been used/altered by man. The first portions of the book are fascinating, detailing the early immigration to the west coast and islands of Scotland, the coming of missionaries, Vikings, the union of Scotland under one crown in Edinburgh, and, of course, the uprising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Unfortunately, I found myself losing interest in the latter half of the book, with its heavy focus on church squabbling. While undoubtedly of importance in understanding the "Highlands Problem," it could have been dealt with in a more expedient manner, without the enumeration of every schism that occurred.

The title is perhaps misleading. It is, in fact, a history of the people in the Highlands (and those in England, Norway, etc. that directly affected the Highlanders). Therefore, the book focuses on the people of this area of Scotland, while essentially ignoring the history of the people who immigrated there in the first place (from Ireland, Scandanavia, etc.), or the people that emigrated (to Canada, Australia, etc.) from the Highlands in later years. The author even points out that early in the 1900's, there were four times the number of Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia than there were in the Highlands - surely some stories of these pioneers deserve treatment in the book titled "A History of the Gaels."
Finally, the maps are woefully inadequate. There are some political maps, but they do not include the locations of many of the towns mentioned in the narrative, and virtually none of the castles. Further, they are scattered throughout the book with no reference to them in the text, further adding to the difficulty in referencing them.

The strength of the book is certainly the readability. The first half is fantastic. The second half is only okay, as it seems to belabour certain issues to the point where the reader loses interest. It's certainly an adequate (and relatively modern - published in 1997) entry for anyone interested in the history of the Highlands' peoples, with enough details to further educate those with a more intimate knowledge of the Highlands.

[Jackie Berke · Rating 1 out of 5]

A journalist attempting to play historian. Many many wrong historical facts of Scotland,Wales Ireland and everything in between. A lot of conjecture a lot of personal opinions on religion religion and his own opinions. The only thing correct is his description of Scotland and how history has neglected it. Even comments how he and a couple others are not taken seriously by academics and I can see why.

[Carrie Brownell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this read. It's slow going and a bit dry in spots but one thing that stood out to me was how the author was completely unable to separate the Christian religion from the formation of Scotland. I felt he was very balanced in his discussions and I walked away with a better understanding of Scottish history and culture.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book. Many chapters are excellent, others are very weak and redundant, particularly the last few where the author gives us great detail without the engaging writing of his earlier chapters. He thankfully admits his religious prejudices in the first pages, but they still annoy, including an unfounded view that evangelicalism saved the highlands. He also tends to paint a world of heroes and villains, although he is more restrained in this regard. In the end not a bad short history, but the parts are better than the whole.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another history book written by a journalist, which means that although it's well written, it contains statements of 'fact' which historians have plenty of evidence to disprove. Most of it, though, is simply a rehash of previous research, which the author essentially admits -- he's not trying to break new ground, just introduce new readers to the topic. Not bad.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly interesting and educational history of the Gaelic people and Scotland as a whole. I particularly enjoyed the section about pre-historic and medieval history, but also enjoyed the sections about Jacobite history.

I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of Scotland or the Gaelic people.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dub thee: Highlanders: History of Christianity in Scotland.