Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #280007 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-01
• Released on: 2007-07-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Employing a similar formula to that of his last book, Seasons in Basilicata, Yeadon recounts the year—2004, arranged by season—he spent with his wife, Anne, on Harris, a small island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland famous for its remote beauty and home-loomed tweed. With a weave of islanders' loquacious stories and rural gossip into an overview of Hebridean history and the couple's own adventures exploring the area, this memoir is perfect for anyone considering a trip to the Outer Hebrides or tracing their ancestors back to its craggy coasts. Fans of the famous Harris Tweed will also find lots of tidbits about the history and current state of this ancient textile and the craft that creates it, and anyone interested in age-old customs waning in the world's hinterlands will find the island's contradictions poignant. At times, the book feels like that familiar traveler's sensation of having arrived home to find that the panoramic snapshot excitedly clicked in an exuberant moment of discovery is just a bit too small or personal. Yet, Yeadon hits high notes recounting history-laden conversations with locals who all have the Gaelic gift of gab, creating an altogether enjoyable read full of unique and likable people. (July)
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Review
"A compelling book...that comes close to re-creating the place and the man." (David Citino, Columbus Dispatch )

"Yeadon leaves you pleasantly stuffed, slightly intoxicated and feeling warmer for the company." (Kathy Balog, USA Today )

"A warm welcome to a balcony view of Aliano." (Albany Times Union )

"One of the best travel writers in the world." (Dolores Derrickson, Rocky Mountain News )

"It's a pleasure to travel with him." (Washington Post )

"Wonderful account" (June Sawyers, Philadelphia Inquirer )

"This is a true traveler.who can make the most innocent encounter a memorable experience." (Ann Geracimos, Washington Times )

"Leave it to Yeadon to choose one of the country's most overlooked provinces." (Pamela Paul, New York Times )

"Delightful, with the odd twist to eerie." (Paul Carbray, The Gazette (Montreal) )

"A delightful book." (Associated Press )

"Yeadon is one of our best travel writers." (Bloomsbury Review )

About the Author

David Yeadon is the author of Seasons in Basilicata and the bestselling National Geographic Guide to the World's Secret Places. He has written, illustrated, and designed more than twenty books about traveling around the world. He lives with his wife, Anne, in Mohegan Lake, New York.

Customer Reviews

Patience pays off with fine sense of the Hebrides
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.

Not Just for Scotland Lovers
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.

An informative and enjoyable read
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