Product Description

In 1941 an 8000-ton cargo ship ran aground in the Sound of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. In the difficult war years any gift from the sea was welcome and the SS Politician had among her cargo a quarter of a million bottles of whisky. The events that followed inspired Compton Mackenzie's novel "Whisky Galore". Using eyewitness accounts, historical papers and official documents, this book tells the story of the SS Politician and the circus that surrounded her, from islanders in small skiffs to wartime excise officers and the final solution to the problem of the vessel affectionately known as the "Polly".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166799 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

The Herald, December 6 1991
"A sparkling crystal glass of a book . . . Here is a fact-filled fairy tale. It is hilarious, heroic and heart-warming."

Daily Mail, November 29 1991
"A distilled drop of long-matured Hebridean history . . . A delightful dram of a book."

West Highland Free Press, November 1991
Rivetting - a legendary tale full of humour."

Customer Reviews

Uncovering a legend!
A book purchased for my birthday and read a week before!! I just couldn't put this book down..A very enjoyable read. I am always interested in the lives of the hebridean people and this being a story I already had some knowledge of, I just had to take a look. Once again, the style of writing kept me thoroughly absorbed (woe betide anyone ringing for a taxi through my company while I was engrossed!!) This book contains humour, sadness, defiance and innocence. The SS Politician is a legend, along with the people who made her a legend..the islanders, "rescuing" and "saving" the whiskey and goods from the Polly, thinking they were doing no harm. Roger Hutchinson tells it as it was, which, in my opinion, is far better than watching the glamourised film version. Top Marks once again for a charming little book...read on...

Great book
A great little book which puts the record straight about the sinking of the S.S. Politician and its cargo of Whisky off the island of Eriskey during the war. Just the book for those long winter nights, this book should be read by anyone who has seen the famous Ealing comedy film "Whisky Galore".

padding galore
The trouble with `the real story of Whisky Galore' is that it's not a very interesting story. A cargo of whisky is wrecked in the Western Isles; some of it is salvaged by locals; Customs & Excise come looking. The End, more or less. It took a novelist's predilection for quaint characters (if your taste runs to that sort of thing) to flesh it out, and the real life version, though so short, feels stretched. This is an insubstantial work in every sense.