THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life.

Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy’s life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds.

Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician – a ‘rambling man’ – with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.

As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken – willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy ‘glam-rock’ stage appearance – wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots – only added to his appeal.

It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson’s chat show in 1975 – and one outrageous story in particular – that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy’s pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too – for over 50 years, in fact – until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson’s Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings… and writing.

Windswept and Interesting is Billy‘s story in his own words. It is joyfully funny – stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.

From the pre and post-war streets of bohemian Paris to the cool azure skies above the Mediterranean, ‘The Girl, The Crow, The Writer and The Fighter’ takes the reader on a visceral, labyrinthine trip with a notorious sexual anarchist, the most dangerous man on the planet and a young woman who finds herself drawn into their complex world of murder, carnality and duplicity.

The book opens in 1965 when provocative author Henry Miller is taken incognito to an infamous title fight. In the turbulent aftermath of the bout, Miller is forced to battle his way through the ensuing melee in order to make a vital connection with the keeper of a tightly guarded secret.

‘Is it safe?’

Twenty years later, a young Maine waitress receives an unusual bequest.

From the estate of an elderly patron, May Morgenstern takes ownership of a bound collection of letters, hitherto unseen correspondence between her late friend and the aforementioned writer in which he not only recounts the story of how he came to be accused of the slaying of the man who fathered her but how his fate came to be linked with that of future heavyweight champion, Sonny Liston. As she delves deeper into the letters, May learns that the truth may be more deadly than fiction.

George Paterson’s epistolary tale of murder and chicanery is a study of chaos in instalments. ‘The Girl, The Crow, The Writer and The Fighter’ is an incendiary, exciting ‘what if?’ page turner which spans continents and lifetimes; a story where desire and intrigue sit, like Chang and Eng, inextricably bound within its own myth.

From Dumas to Devo, Hammett to Huey Lewis, Paterson’s debut novel deftly turns literary convention on its side and fashions an entertaining, yet challenging alternative reality in mystery fiction.

The memories I had built exploded. As the debris landed, my mind grasped at the facts.

The Broken Pane is about loss and family when families are broken. Finding yourself in the pieces of memory. About a young woman and her search for answers.

A collection of short fictions, mostly about death, in which a man turns into a house (or vice versa), angels appear on the Earth (but far too often), Doctor Faust is undeniably damned (several times), decapitation (and cardiectomy) fail to prove fatal and various other literary ploys occur (or fail to occur).

Challenging and exhilarating Gothic fables mixing genres and fact and fiction. You are guaranteed to love them (or hate them).

In this provocative and thought-provoking novel, Affrossman takes a look at the nature of modern day belief.

Post pandemic, Peter Kelso and his wife, Ellisha, have moved to Edinburgh in a last desperate bid to get their lives back on track. But things rapidly start to spiral out of control.

Just as there seems no hope, an encounter with Edinburgh University’s most eccentric professor of history leads them to uncover a source of knowledge kept hidden for centuries.

Using this knowledge, known as The Woman’s Secret, Peter sets out to heal a damaged world, and the Internet provides the perfect platform for the new world order to spread. In the midst of this, American, mixed-race, Ellisha is an unlikely messiah, but she becomes the face of a new age and soon everyone is pinning their hopes upon her.

But if they thought The Woman’s Secret would produce a kinder, gentler world, they are in for a terrible shock. As corruption starts to cast its shadow, cracks begin to show and Peter and Ellisha’s reactions are very different to the encroaching threat. As they become embroiled in their own private battles, unseen forces are moving against them.

A collection of short stories and poetry.

‘This suburb collection of poems and short stories wonderfully depicts the hedonism of the time with uncanny accuracy.’ – Graeme Park

‘Witches occupy a clear place in contemporary imagination. We can see them, shadowy, in the corners of the past: mad, glamorous, difficult, strange. They haunt the footnotes of history – from medieval witches burning at the stake to the lurid glamour of the 1970s witchcraft revival. But they are moving out of history, too. Witches are back. They’re feminist, independent, invested in self-care and care for the world. They are here, because they must be needed.’

What it means to be a witch has changed radically throughout history; where ‘witch’ was once a dangerous – and often deadly – accusation, it is now a proud self-definition. Today, as the world becomes ever more complicated and as we face ecological, political and economic crisis – witchcraft is experiencing a resurgence. Witches are back.

In A Spell in the Wild, Alice Tarbuck explores what it means to be a witch today. Rooted in the real world, but filled with spells, rituals and recipes, this book is an accessible, seasonal guide to witchcraft in the twenty-first century. Following the course of a witch’s calendar year while also exploring the history and politics of witchcraft, A Spell in the Wild is the perfect primer for the contemporary witch.

In this children’s sequel to the Robert Burns classic poem, ‘Tam o’ Shanter’, Fiona and her wee brother Finn are swept into a strange mystical world to embark on a perilous quest. They must find Meg’s tail which has been taken to the dark and evil land of Dracadonia. The tail is now in the possession of Morbidea, the beautiful but deadly Druid Queen. A powerful and potent magic has been bestowed upon the tail, allowing it to be used as a key to the mystical portal known as The Yett of Abandoned Time. Legend has it that Morbidea will use the power of the tail to enter the mortal world. Fiona and Finn learn of their extraordinary link to this deadly threat and must make the brave decision to try and prevent it. Accompanied by Meg and their border collie, Kirsty, the children dare to enter Morbidea’s world where they are catapulted into a tsunami of danger and magic. In a land populated by weird creatures, an army of undead warrior nuns and an eccentric troublemaking alchemist their quest unfolds. The children’s courage grows as they face their destiny. For Fiona and Finn, life, if they survive, will never be the same again.

Tenement Kid is Bobby Gillespie’s story up to the recording and release of the album that has been credited with ‘starting the 90’s’, Screamadelica.

Born into a working class Glaswegian family in the summer of 1961, Bobby’s memoirs begin in the district of Springburn, soon to be evacuated in Edward Heath’s brutal slum clearances. Leaving school at 16 and going to work as a printers’ apprentice, Bobby’s rock n roll epiphany arrives like a bolt of lightning shining from Phil Lynott’s mirrored pickguard at his first gig at the Apollo in Glasgow. Filled with ‘the holy spirit of rock n roll’ his destiny is sealed with the arrival of the Sex Pistols and punk rock which to Bobby, represents an iconoclastic vision of class rebellion and would ultimately lead to him becoming an artist initially in the Jesus and Mary Chain then in Primal Scream.

Structured in four parts, Tenement Kid builds like a breakbeat crescendo to the final quarter of the book, the Summer of Love, Boys Own parties, and the fateful meeting with Andrew Weatherall in an East Sussex field. As the ’80s bleed into the ’90s and a new kind of electronic soul music starts to pulse through the nation’s consciousness, Primal Scream become the most innovative British band of the new decade, representing a new psychedelic vanguard taking shape at Creation Records.

Ending with the release of Screamadelica and the tour that followed in the autumn, Tenement Kid is a book filled with the joy and wonder of a rock n roll apostle who would radically reshape the future sounds of fin de siècle British pop. Published thirty years after the release of their masterpiece, Bobby Gillespie’s memoir cuts a righteous path through a decade lost to Thatcherism and saved by acid house.

‘It’s all about the community’, the words of Kenneth Ross, Chief Constable of Ross and Sutherland Constabulary, guided Ian McNeish through thirty years of police service. They were true then, back in 1974, and they are true now.

Ian held a police warrant card for three decades, serving communities across Scotland. In that time, his work saw him moving from the northerly constabulary where he policed the rural Hill of Fearn to the social challenges that presented themselves amongst the urban landscape of Central Scotland.

From his formative years in post-War Scotland through to his application to join the police service, Ian has led a rich and varied professional life that ranged from working in iron foundries to building electronic parts for the Kestrel Jump Jet and legendary Concorde aircraft. But once he had joined the police service, he found himself faced with a whole new range of life-changing experiences – some of them surprising, a few even shocking, but all of them memorable.

Leading the reader through his involvement in front line situations, Ian explains the effects of anti-social behaviour and attending criminal court appearances, in addition to dealing with death and the responsibilities of informing those left behind. He considers topics such as ethics, public interest, police and firearms, drug issues, causes of crime, and a lot more besides.

In a career where his duties ranged from policing national strikes to providing comfort and support through personal tragedies, Ian advanced through the ranks and saw first-hand the vital importance of effective management and good teamwork. Whether as the ‘Fearn Bobby’, policing a remote countryside outpost, as a seconded officer working for the Chief Executive of a Regional Council, or as a Local Unit Commander in Bo’ness, Ian always recognised the importance of putting the community first. Comparing today’s policing techniques with his own professional experiences and examining both the good times and the harrowing pitfalls of the job, his account of life in the force is heartfelt, entertaining, and always completely honest.

The Second World War left no corner of Europe unaffected, and was to touch lives in every country. Young British librarian Len Manwaring was no exception; answering his country’s call to arms, he would soon discover a life turned upside down when he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and saw a tour of duty which involved time serving in North America and South Africa as well as closer to home in a United Kingdom that was fighting the constant threat of invasion. Yet just as difficult for Len was the prospect of leaving behind Joan, the girl he loved, with whom he would correspond throughout the entirety of the war.

Now, in this special anthology of letters, airgraphs and other authentic materials from the time, Gaye Manwaring presents the remarkable story of her parents’ extraordinary romance, set against the backdrop of an era-defining global conflict. Illustrated with many photographs from the 1940s, “Waiting in the Wings” is the story of how true love can endure in the most challenging of circumstances – even a war which saw Len and Joan separated not just by their duties in the armed services, but by the distance which lay between whole continents.

Presented with social and personal commentary from the author throughout, “Waiting in the Wings” is a unique account of a love affair that stood the trials of war and the test of time; a timely reminder that light can shine in even the darkest days.

David M. Addison’s Exploring series focuses on the culture and history of the cities, towns and villages which comprise Scotland’s many road trips. In his first volume, he discusses the incredible Scottish Highlands as he relates some amazing tales from the famous North Coast 500 route. From famous historical figures to little-known historical facts, David shines a new light on this remarkable region and explains why everyone should see more of Scotland for themselves.

The 1950s in Carnoustie: a beautiful seaside town on the Tayside coast, and a place which was to see rapid social and technological advancement during one of the fastest-moving periods of cultural change in recent British history.

In “The Grocer’s Boy”, Robert Murray relates his account of an eventful childhood in post-War Scotland, drawing on fond memories of his loving family, his droll and often mischievous group of friends, and the many inspirational people who influenced him and helped to shape his early life.

Join Robert on his adventures in retail as he advances from his humble beginnings as a delivery boy for the famous William Low grocery firm, all the way to becoming the youngest manager in the company’s history at just nineteen years of age. Read tales of his hectic, hard-working time as an apprentice grocer — sometimes humorous, occasionally nerve-wracking, but never less than entertaining.
From Robert’s early romances and passion for stage performance to his long-running battle of wits with his temperamental delivery bike, “The Grocer’s Boy” is a story of charm and nostalgia; the celebration of a happy youth in a distinctive bygone age.

Throughout the 1980s, thousands of British children were lucky enough to discover a Sinclair ZX Spectrum under their Christmas trees and soon found their eyes opened to a virtual world of wonder. But Santa Claus did more than deliver computers – sometimes he appeared on them, too.

From the author of “The Spectrum of Adventure” and “A Righteously Awesome Eighties Christmas”, this book delves into the Spectrum’s extraordinary pantheon of seasonal games: the good, the bad, the surprising, the unabashedly surreal and the occasionally rather tenuous.

From the machine’s formative days in the early eighties right through to the latest independent releases, “A Very Spectrum Christmas” takes a look at what makes a truly memorable festive title for the vintage home micro-computer… as well as unearthing a few games that may have become lost in the mists of Christmas past for good reason.

Fully illustrated with colour screenshots of all the games under discussion, “A Very Spectrum Christmas” is a treasure trove of yuletide software experiences-where eighties nostalgia collides with modern day homebrew innovation with frequently unexpected results!

When doctoral student Joy Hendry first visited the Japanese village of Kurotsuchi in the 1970s, little could she have known that her relationship with the community there would span several decades, leading to the formation of lifelong friendships and a connection which endures to this very day.

Now a leading professor and one of the United Kingdom’s most respected experts on Japanese culture and society, Joy invites the reader to join her on a thought-provoking journey to rural Japan as she explains the painstaking work of an anthropologist in the field. Her time in Kurotsuchi offered no shortage of cultural insights and intriguing observations-to say nothing of a few surprising developments along the way!

Meet the families who make up this extraordinary community, learn about their customs and social life, and share in their festivities and family celebrations as well as their times of grief. In “An Affair with a Village”, accompany Joy as she reveals the many changes that have taken place in the region over the decades, and describes the unique bond she has forged with its remarkable citizens.

The Scottish Wars of Independence: a titanic struggle over the fate of the Scottish nation which made heroes of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace, and saw many clashes that have gone down as among the most significant in the country’s history. None, however, were to be quite as momentous as the epic Battles of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn.

In this book, archaeologist Dr Murray Cook revisits these critical campaigns with reference to his many excavations around the area and the exciting historical discoveries that are still being unearthed to this very day. He explains the background of the battles and the personalities involved, describes the action that took place on those fateful days, and discusses the far-reaching impact the Wars of Independence had on the future of Scotland.

Bannockburn and Stirling Bridge culminates in a five-stage walk around Stirling and the surrounding area in which the author describes the ways that the Wars of Independence shaped the city’s destiny: an influence which can still be witnessed today through the many different historical sites and archaeological finds located throughout the vicinity. He brings the past alive with detailed illustrations drawn from the tumultuous events of bygone centuries, and encourages his readers to seek out the nation’s vibrant history for themselves.

Scots were involved in every stage of the slave trade: from captaining slaving ships to auctioning captured Africans in the colonies and hunting down those who escaped from bondage. This book focuses on the Scottish Highlanders who engaged in or benefitted from these crimes against humanity in the Caribbean Islands and Guyana, some reluctantly but many with enthusiasm and without remorse. Their voices are clearly heard in the archives, while in the same sources their victims’ stories are silenced – reduced to numbers and listed as property.

THE BODY
A young woman murdered in the changing room of a local supermarket. A suspected terrorist incident. And there may be a serial killer at work.

THE ENEMY WITHIN
There are no easy answers, and it soon becomes apparent that someone in his team is leaking information. Loyalties increasingly strained, answers remain just out of reach.

THE ENEMY WITHOUT
Confusion and paranoia reign supreme, and Grant’s personal life starts to spiral out of control. With the killer almost within his grasp, he finds himself in mortal danger. Will he be the final victim?

This is the 2nd thrilling book in the DCI Grant McVicar series.

Your favourite Scottish detective is back with a brand new case, one that threatens to destroy everything.Inspector Daniel Kohi of the Zimbabwean police force returns home one night to find his worst nightmare has been realised. His family dead, his house destroyed, and in fear for his life, he is forced to flee the country he loves.Far away in Glasgow, DSI William Lorimer has his hands full. Christmas is approaching, the city is bustling, and whilst the homicide rate has been relatively low, something much darker is brewing. Counter-Terrorism have got wind of a plot, here in Lorimer’s native city, to carry out an unspeakable atrocity on Christmas Eve. They need someone with local knowledge to help them root it out and who better than the head of the Scottish Major Incidents Team.But the investigation is complicated by a spate of local murders, and by the rumours that someone is passing information to criminal organisations from inside the police force. Soon Lorimer finds himself in desperate need of assistance. Then he meets an extraordinary man – a refugee from Zimbabwe whose investigative skills are a match for Lorimer’s own . . .__________________PRAISE FOR THE WILLIAM LORIMER SERIES’Immensely exciting and atmospheric’ ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH’Move over Rebus’ DAILY MAIL’Relentless and intriguing’ PETER MAY’Convincing Glaswegian atmosphere and superior writing’ THE TIMES