Biography

A Countryside Camera
The photography of Roger Redfern
by Christopher Nicholson

Roger Redfern – author, writer and photographer – had been writing about his travels and exploration of different areas of Britain and abroad for over 50 years, most notably as a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper’s Country Diary feature. He is the author of over 30 book... more...

A Homeland Denied
In the Footsteps of a Polish POW
by Irena  Kossakowski

A Homeland Denied follows the horrific journey of Waclaw Kossakowski, a young Warsaw University student whose peaceful life was changed dramatically and with far reaching consequences that fateful day of 1st September, 1939. From imprisonment in the notorious Kozelsk prison to the forced labour c... more...

A Quiet Life
by Martha Robertson

From their inception and through the early years of this century, long before automation, lighthouses were manned by keepers, often with their families in residence. In the case of the Petrie family, in 1922, their number included a new arrival, Martha. Over the years Martha, or Mattie as she was ni... more...

Alone in the Wilderness
by Mike  Tomkies

This is the story of a man who achieved what thousands only dream of. He shed the pressures of urban life as an international journalist and exchanged it for solitude, self-sufficiency and new purpose. He emigrated to Canada, found a plot of rock, trees and cliffs in a remote part of the British Col... more...

Always at Sea
by Mary Wardle

Written from her father's diaries, Always at Sea recounts the exploits of William Donald who went to sea as a boy in 1912 and stayed in the Merchant Navy for almost fifty years! Over the years he proved himself a very able and entirely reliable mariner - in fact he made an outstanding master.... more...

Archie's Lights
The life and Times of a Scottish Lightkeeper
by Anne MacEachern, Archie MacEachern

Born at a clifftop lighthouse in 1910, Archie’s life was spent in the world of Scottish lighthouses – he was one of the third generation of his family in the service of the Northern Lighthouse Board. Archie’s stories have gripped listeners of all ages and have now been compiled ... more...

Backwoods Mates to Hollywood's Greats
by Mike  Tomkies

This is a boisterous, roller-coaster of a story about Mike Tomkies' extraordinary adventures after he quit his full-time career as a celebrity journalist and began working as a logger with the lusty men of the wild Canadian forests and the sea salmon fishermen - men who led a free way of life no... more...

Between Daylight and Hell
Scots Who Left a Stain on American History
by Iain Lundy

This is the culmination of years of research into the lives of Scots who were guilty of dastardly deeds after leaving Scotland for America – in some cases they literally got away with murder. These emigrants were rogues, con artists, charlatans and reprobates of the worst order and their crime... more...

Bones
The Life and Adventures of Dr Archibald Menzies (1754–1842)
by Graeme Menzies

Archibald Menzies (1754–1842) is recognized as an accomplished botanist but, as author Graeme Menzies has discovered, that is only a part of his story. In this compelling new biography, the author reveals that Archibald Menzies was a remarkable product of the Scottish Enlightenment: a boy rais... more...

c/o Cunard House
88 Leadenhall Street, London EC3
by Bill Ferguson

This is an unusual maritime story in that the author looks at life from the lower echelons of a merchant ship’s company and the relationship between officers and crew, deck department and the catering staff, recounting his life and experiences with people and places in Australia, New Zealand a... more...

Caithness to Patagonia
Distant Lands and Close Relatives
by Ian Leith

This is an extraordinary and little-known story of emigration from Scotland. Caithness and Patagonia are literally a world apart, yet in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of Caithness men and women took on the challenge of this wild, open and windswept land. The book provides the origi... more...

Chasing Conrad
A tale of the sea and a glimpse into the abyss
by Simon J.  Hall

Simon Hall’s second book is set in the mid-1970s during the closing years of the golden age of British shipping, when cargo carriage at sea saw radical change and the romance of being at sea in old-style cargo ships came to an end. Hall’s account is of five years during which he worked a... more...

Chronometer Jack
The Autobiography of the shipmaster, John Miller of Edinburgh (1802-1883)
by Ann Nix, Michael Nix, Robin Craig

From a chance acquisition of a battered leather-bound notebook, an extensive and extremely well-written narrative was revealed which recounted the life of a midshipman in the East India Company, through to the time when he owned his own vessels and settled in Tasmania. Chronometer Jack is an outs... more...

Enigma: The Untold Story of the Secret Capture
Vol. III of The British Navy at War and Peace Series editor Captain Peter Hore
by David Balme

David Balme will be forever known as the 20-year-old hero who, on 9 May 1941, boarded a German U-boat in mid-Atlantic, and captured one of the greatest secrets of the Second World War. This capture – or ‘pinch’ as it was known within secret, inner circles – changed the course... more...

Escape to the Sea
by Mike Starke

Written by Tom 'Jack' Sullivan Green, AB of Bristol in the 1920s, Escape to the Sea is an inspiring, first-hand account of survival against the odds of an orphan boy in early Victorian England. Recounted in a fluent style and peppered with dialogue, this gripping tale of a seaman's li... more...

Everest - the Man and the Mountain
by J. R. Smith

Mount Everest is known to everyone - but what of the person after whom it was named? This book traces the life and profession of that person, George Everest. In particular, it covers his life dedicated to surveying in India during the first half of the 19th century. George Everest went to India a... more...

Flight from Afghanistan
Tella's Story
by Tella Omeri

Flight From Afghanistan is a harrowing account of what drives a man to flee his home country in fear of his life, the trauma of refugee camps and the dangers he faces even when he reaches the sanctuary of the West. Afghans are the second largest refugee group in the world. When confronted by cert... more...

Flight from the Croft
by Bill Innes

As a barefoot lad in the Outer Hebrides, Bill Innes dreamed the impossible dream of becoming a pilot and this book tells how that dream came to pass. The author’s career of over forty years spanned a period of incredible advances in the air – now regarded as a golden era in aviation. ... more...

Footsteps in the Snow
by John Dudeney

Footsteps in the Snow recounts a life shaped and dominated by Antarctica, a multi-facetted account of a life dedicated to Antarctic science, policy and governance. It is also the story of growth from callow youth to Antarctic professional in the most challenging of environments. Joining the Briti... more...

HARD DOWN! HARD DOWN!
The Life and Times of Captain John Isbester from Shetland
by Captain Jack Isbester

Hard Down! Hard Down! describes the eventful life of a Shetland man in pursuit of his ambitions – to reach the top in his profession, to find a wife, to cherish a family, to do his job well and to be respected by his peers. The account is enlivened by extracts from numerous well-chosen family ... more...

In the Shadow of Power
Influence and spin down the centuries
by Bob Whittington

From Alexander the Great to Saddam Hussein, from Cardinal Richelieu and Howard Hughes to Martin Luther King and Pope Benedict, emperors and tycoons, presidents and popes, they have all had a right hand man – or woman – at their side advising, sometimes influencing and occasionally manipu... more...

In the Treacle Mine
The Life of a Marine Engineer
by J W Richardson

If anyone has ever wondered what happens in the engine room when the Captain on the bridge rings ‘Full Ahead’ on the telegraph, then this book will enlighten the reader. This is a story of one man’s life at sea, from his beginnings as a lowly cadet to his qualification as a Chief E... more...

Journey into Africa
The Life and Death of Keith Johnston, Scottish Cartographer and Explorer (1844-79)
by James McCarthy

This true and dramatic story begins with the finding of the last expedition diary of a forgotten Edinburgh cartographer - Keith Johnston. The diary was lying in the Royal Geographical Society of Scotland's storeroom and concerns his last, fatal expedition into the interior of Africa. Johnston's fami... more...

Last of the Line
by Patricia Gumbrell

Now that lighthouse automation has been completed, what of the service and dedication to duty that was unfailingly provided by keepers, their associates and their families? Last of the Line is an account of four generations of lightkeepers, the first being John Hall, the author's great-great-... more...

Last Voyage to Wewak
A tale of the Sea, West Africa to South Pacific
by Simon J.  Hall

This is a thought-provoking work, capturing the march of time which overtook the maritime world in the last quarter of the 20th century. The final crumbling of the British register caused officers like Hall to find themselves in a strange new world, sailing under flags of convenience with all the ol... more...

Monkey Puzzle Man
Archibald Menzies, Plant Hunter
by James McCarthy

'This richly detailed account of the life and travels of Archibald Menzies is a most welcome addition to the literature of botanical exploration. ...we now have a satisfyingly comprehensive account of the life of a Scot who travelled the world as a surgeon naturalist in the Royal Navy'. Ext... more...

My Wicked First Life
Before the Wilderness
by Mike  Tomkies

This is a boisterous, roller-coaster of a story about Mike Tomkies' extraordinary adventures after he quit his full-time career as a celebrity journalist and began working as a logger with the lusty men of the wild Canadian forests and the sea salmon fishermen - men who led a free way of life no... more...

Noon, with a View
Courage and Integrity
by Gulam Noon

This is a candid story from a man who values highly his family, friends and country - both his birthplace and his adopted home. Despite many setbacks his indomitable spirit enabled him to meet challenges and succeed. Throughout his life he has made many friends and helped innumerable people, and ... more...

'Rosy' Wemyss, Admiral of the Fleet
The Man who Created Armistice Day
by John Johnson-Allen

Rosslyn Wemyss’ life and career was both fascinating and brilliant – a most distinguished admiral who is very little known.  As the Allied Naval Representative at the Armistice negotiations on 11th November, 1918, he left an indelible mark on the life of this country when he was res... more...

School of the Sea
by Stephen Richardson

...it is precisely the sort of record that is immensely important for enhancing our understanding of human affairs. ...The diary that has become a book reveals the light and shade of daily life, punctuated by terrifying moments. This was the real stuff of the war at sea and it has been tellingly cap... more...

Sea Like a Mirror
by Alan  Jones

Living with the sea evokes a need to write about it, whether in poems, songs or prose. This book records a life spent upon the sea, from junior cadet to captain, and some of the reflections which at lonely times in the ocean's vastness seemed to have sprung from its depth. At first attracted ... more...

Self Portrait
The Eyes Within
by William Mitchell

This is the story of Bill Mitchell’s life – his career and his body of work from hospital at an early age to a life of art with commissions offered 80 years later. It describes gaining commissions, experiments with materials and methods and his determination to produce magnificent works ... more...

Tales from the Forgotten Front
British West Africa during WWII
by John Wade

In November 1943, four years into World War II, Corporal Sid Wade, a conscripted and reluctant soldier in the British Army, was uprooted from a cold English winter and transported to the tropical coast of West Africa. Sid Wade was the author’s father and, nearly 70 years after his two-year sti... more...

The Bishop Method
The life and achievements of Professor Alan Bishop, soil mechanics pioneer
by Laurie Wesley

Bishop is undoubtedly one of the most widely-known names in the soil mechanics, or geotechnical engineering, community today, alongside the ‘founding father’, Karl Terzaghi. This is mainly due to the method Bishop devised for estimating the stability of soil slopes; it became known as Th... more...

The Caithness Influence
Diverse lives of distinction
by Valerie Campbell

With a small population, it is remarkable that so many people from the county of Caithness have had such a huge impact, not only in Scotland but worldwide. The sheer hard work and determination of people from the county, both past and present, has guaranteed their place in history. From scientists, ... more...

The King of Lokoja
William Balfour Baikie the Forgotten Man of Africa
by Wendell  McConnaha

William Balfour Baikie was a surgeon, naturalist, linguist, writer, explorer, and government consul who played a key role in opening Africa to the Europeans. As an explorer he mapped and charted large sections of the Niger River system as well as the overland routes from Lagos and Lokoja to the majo... more...

The Life and Works of Glasgow Architects James Miller and John James Burnet
by John  Stewart

This is the first full biography of two of Scotland’s most eminent Architects, James Miller and John James Burnet. While born just three years apart into very different circumstances – Burnet was the son of a wealthy Glasgow architect and Miller a farmer’s son – their careers... more...

The Nearly Man
by Mark Bridgeman

The Nearly Man is the true, yet almost unbelievable, story of one man’s incredible life, beginning in rural Scotland in the reign of Queen Victoria, and ending on the west coast of Canada in the 1970s. In one of the 20th century’s great untold stories we travel with Francis Metcalfe on a... more...

Through Albert's Eyes
Vol. II of The British Navy at War and Peace Series editor Captain Peter Hore
by A. Bentley-Buckle

The autobiography of Tony Bentley-Buckle, a child of the Empire who was left to grow up in the care of maiden aunts. Having joined the Royal Navy before the war, he found himself on the Northern Patrol during the blockade of Germany and as a teenager in command of captured ships. When he brought a s... more...

Under a Yellow Sky
A tale of the sea and coming of age
by Simon J.  Hall

Simon Hall went to sea in search of a way of life that he believed was glamorous, adventurous and disciplined, a life where smartly-uniformed men ran ships in a tightly organised manner. At this time the British fleet was still one of the largest in the world and the Red Ensign a common sight in mos... more...

What a Life!
50 Years of Fleet Street Photography
by Ted Blackbrow

From his humble beginnings in London’s East End, Ted Blackbrow went on to become one of the UK’s greatest press photographers. Thrown out of a good grammar school at 15, Ted embarked on a career that would see him photograph members of the Royal Family, Enoch Powell, The Beatles, Sean Co... more...

Wingfield at War
Vol. I of The British Navy at War and Peace Series editor Captain Peter Hore
by Mervyn Wingfield

Captain Mervyn Wingfield was one of the last of his generation of submariners who made their reputation in the Second World War. Pre-war he had served on the China station and lived the riotous life of a young officer; in the war he commanded three submarines, Umpire, Sturgeon and Taurus, survived a... more...