Product Description

Positioned at the uppermost tip of Britain and facing the battling winds of the Atlantic, the isle of Lewis has always had a strong identity of its own. A community defined by tradition for hundreds of years, the twentieth century presented huge challenges to its way of life, leaving it completely altered by the arrival of the millennium. "Lewis in the Passing" is a form of time-capsule, containing twenty-one autobiographical sketches of Lewis natives, all born before the Second World War. From crofter to musician, house-wife to clergyman, the selection spans the spectrum of Lewis society. Theirs are lives which have experienced these great changes, from economic disaster in the 1920s, mass emigration in the 1930s, the 'obscenity of battle' during World War Two, and afterwards the decline of the Gaelic language and slow demise of crofting. All are interviewed by a fellow islander Calum Ferguson, who presents his subjects' stories and journeys, and understands how, in spite of the rainy climate and wind-blasted scenery, the island's hidden magnetism continues to draw them all 'back home'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169812 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Calum Ferguson was born in Point, Lewis and educated at the Nicolson Institute and Aberdeen University, has had a varied career as a teacher and broadcaster. He is the author of a number of books in Gaelic and English. He now lives in Stornoway.

Customer Reviews

another brilliant offering!
Having lived on Lewis some years ago, I expected when I recently visited to find something of the old crofter economy still in place.
In 2006, what I found was quite different but certainly not disappointing. Crofting had virtually disappeared. The shops still rang with the sounds of Gaelic converstion Music festivals, concerts and ceilidhs were continuously on offer.

Calum Ferguson's latest book 'Lewis in the Passing' brilliantly captures the way things were: the struggle of the islanders to escape the poverty of the Great Depression, their service in the country's fighting forces in the two world wars and their centuries old culture

Each of the twenty short biographies in the book represents a piece of a jigsaw which, when taken together, gives a very strong impression of a way of life which is all but gone
Highly recommended, great for dipping into!