This is a historical study of great wind storms over the last 500-600 years, with meteorological maps and wind measurements.

The Northern Isles stand at a crossroads of North Atlantic Europe, subject to the competing influences of Scandinavia and Scotland. Sandy Fenton's detailed study of the material culture of Orkney and Shetland is combined with thorough linguistic analysis and is based on years of study and sifting of a mass of detail. Much of the material is new, based on extensive research by the author, on manuscript and other written sources and on knowledge freely imparted by many local inhabitants. It illuminates the complexity of numerous interlocking factors, draws a picture of a fascinating and varied existence and reveals the past not as a static tableau but a process of continuous change. This book recreates the physical environment in which the people lived, their crops and livestock, the harvest of the sea, their houses, the food they ate. These things dominated their lives and form the background which is the key to understanding the character of these fascinating islands. This major work has earned its place as a key contribution to European ethnology and won the Dag Stromback Award of the Royal Gustav Academy, Sweden.

A guidebook to 80 walking routes on Scotland's Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. Routes are described on the islands of Orkney (Orkney Mainland, Hoy, South Ronaldsay, Burray, Rousay, Eday, Westray, Papa Westray, North Ronaldsay) and the islands of Shetland (Shetland Mainland, West Burra, East Burra, Foula, Fair Isle, Isle of Noss, Bressay, Whalsay, Papa Stour, Muckle Roe, Out Skerries, Esha Ness, Yell, Fetlar and Unst). Routes vary in length from 1 mile to 16 miles, with something to suit all abilities. Offering a variety of landscapes together with a wealth of remarkable archaeological sites such as Skara Brae and Jarlshof, Orkney and Shetland are a walker's dream. Step-by-step route descriptions are accompanied by clear OS mapping and a time estimate for completing each route. The book includes plenty of information on the region's wildlife, archaeology and history, as well as practical tips such as when to go, what to take and getting to and around Orkney and Shetland. Quiet, remote and abounding in rare plants and wildlife, together with some of the world's most fascinating archaeological sites, Orkney and Shetland offer a treasure trove of natural and historic wonders, and makes an ideal walking holiday destination.

In this media history of the Caribbean, Alejandra Bronfman traces how technology, culture, and politics developed in a region that was "wired" earlier and more widely than many other parts of the Americas. Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica acquired radio and broadcasting in the early stages of the global expansion of telecommunications technologies. Imperial histories helped forge these material connections through which the United States, Great Britain, and the islands created a virtual laboratory for experiments in audiopolitics and listening practices. As radio became an established medium worldwide, it burgeoned in the Caribbean because the region was a hub for intense foreign and domestic commercial and military activities. Attending to everyday life, infrastructure, and sounded histories during the waxing of an American empire and the waning of British influence in the Caribbean, Bronfman does not allow the notion of empire to stand solely for domination. By the time of the Cold War, broadcasting had become a ubiquitous phenomenon that rendered sound and voice central to political mobilization in the Caribbean nations throwing off what remained of their imperial tethers.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This is the first book ever to be written on the collective history of the little group of islands between Ardnamurchan and Skye. As some of the best known Hebridean islands, Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck have a long and varied history, but are also amongst the least documented. Rum was the playground of the Macruari kings of the Northern Hebrides; Eigg was the island meeting point where their descendants conceded primacy to the Islay Macdonalds, while Muck and Canna were the property of Iona, spiritual nerve centre of the west. With reference to both the extensive material remains on the islands and rare original source material, this book is a dynamic and wideranging account of the Small Isles and their history.

The bestselling and controversial new history of the 'British Isles', including Ireland from the author of Europe: A History. Emphasizing our long-standing European connections and positing a possible break-up of the United Kingdom, this is agenda-setting work is destined to become a classic. 'If ever a history book were a tract for the times, it is The Isles: A History ... a masterwork.' Roy Porter, The Times 'Davies is among the few living professional historians who write English with vitality, sparkle, economy and humour. The pages fly by, not only because the pace is well judged but also because the surprises keep coming.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Sunday Times 'A book which really will change the way we think about our past . marvellously rich and stimulating' Noel Malcolm, Evening Standard 'A historiographical milestone.' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times 'The full shocking force of this book can only be appreciated by reading it.' Andrew Marr, Observer 'It is too soon to tell if [Norman Davies] will become the Macaulay or Trevelyan of our day: that depends on the reading public. He has certainly made a good try. This is narrative history on the grand scale - compulsively readable, intellectually challenging and emotionally exhilirating.' David Marquand, Literary Review