Product Description

From the unfathomable Standing Stones of Callanish to the quiet dignity of Christian commitment, the people of Lewis and Harris have, for millennia, sought for eternal meaning through their struggles in a robust, stripping environment. Even today, as their Gaelic world is increasingly besieged by change, migration and the impact of the mass-media, their distinctive spirituality continues to fascinate a wider world. Today, the Long Island is, to many, Britain's 'last stronghold of the pure Gospel'; a place still defined by heartfelt religion - a community where, for instance, the threat of a Sabbath ferry service can still arouse considerable passion.In this sparkling account of island faith - from unknown, Megalithic builders to a war of Free Church schism waged on the Internet - award-winning journalist John MacLeod outlines the gripping religious history of this Hebridean community. This is a story that has never been related before, by any author, from the dawn of this island community to the present day - the tale of a people as indomitable as their landscape and a faith as profound as the Hebridean sea.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #288087 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From the Back Cover
PRAISE FOR JOHN MACLEOD's PREVIOUS BOOKS

No Great Mischief If You Fall - The Highland Experience (Mainstream Publishing Ltd., Edinburgh, 1993.)

"Much of this is gripping and puts one in mind of Tom Wolfe and the `New Journalism' in America." (Northern Times)

Highlanders - A History of the Gaels (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1996; Sceptre paperback 1997.)

"An important and stimulating book by a gifted stylist." (The Herald)

"Wonderfully written and presented... Enjoyable to read; the movement of the chapters is fast and clearly defined... John MacLeod is a brilliant writer with a gift for words that others can only envy." (Stornoway Gazette)

"An insider's view of Highland history. The choice of material is easily read and obviously flows from the pen of a master wordsmith. His cultural observations are excellent." (Shetland Radio)

Dynasty - A History of the Stuarts 1560-1807 (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1999; Sceptre paperback 2000; American edition by St Martin's Press, New York, 2001.)

"A rattling good work of history." (Good Book Guide)

"MacLeod's book is a delight, bringing to life the eccentric characters who used to rule Britain. Factual, well-researched, and enlivened by the author's humorous commentary." (Star)

"Dynasty is a well-oiled gateway to an understanding of the period." (Catholic Herald)

"[MacLeod] exposes the buffoons that once ruled Scotland... yet, with great adroitness, he is able to argue that the Stuarts - for all their incompetence - still managed to bequeath a legacy that was to prove historically significant." (Mid Anglia Business Weekly)

"MacLeod writes vivid prose that does much to diminish the barrier of time. MacLeod's writing is as entertaining as it is informed." (Caledonia)

"MacLeod [is a] lucid, concise, extremely readable, wry and sardonically humorous author." (The Scotsman)

About the Author
John MacLeod was born in Lochaber in 1966. After graduating from Edinburgh University, he began his career at BBC Highland in Inverness and quickly established himself as a freelance writer. He won Scottish Journalist of the Year in 1991 and contributed regularly to The Scotsman and The Herald. He is presently a columnist with the Scottish Daily Mail and is the author of several books. He lives on a croft on the west side of Lewis with a small, elderly dog, two melodeons, a 4-oven Aga and far too many chickens.

Customer Reviews

A superb book
John Macleod has written a book over flowing with character, wit and insight to these islands which are on the furthest North West fringe of the United Kingdom. It is obvious from the first page that Macleod has that increasingly rare ability to write properly and with an extensive vocabulary which helps the flow of the book. This is in contrast to many of today's authors who often write in a bland and rather hollow style which makes so much reading a chore.

As someone born in Lancashire with roots in Wigan where people, families, characters, and their communities were the bedrock of the society, I identified with the author's insight and meticulous passion for the folk in Lewis and Harris. Macleod gives winsome and detailed if sometimes potentially controversial observations about local figures, while his evidence on Christian authors and preachers like A.W. Pink and revivalist Duncan Campbell make fascinating reading.

Many topics of Christian belief and practise are woven into the book, and I was left with a renewed respect for the beauty of the Sabbath; psalm singing; and the loving holiness which is the back bone of much of the Reformed faith practised in many of the churches in Lewis and Harris. The author though first of all puts the islands in their ancient context of celtic and norse influence and culture in a way which kindles the imagination, while more recently the relationship with the U.K. mainland during the last few centuries seems to have been a bitter sweet one.

This book though is no heavy read. I loved Macleod's leavening of his writing with a pithy wit which makes this such an excellent book. When I finished this spiritual history, the final impression was one of a rich and colourful journey through the times of a part of Scotland which is truly unique. Such books deserve to be read for a superb and deeply crafted style which reveal an abiding love and care for their subject.

Unique
There is no place like The Long Island. There is no church history book like this one. This is no pretendedly objective academic church history. It is by a man commited to his home, its religion and culture. He writes with passion and humour. It is rare for a Christian tome to make one laught out loud as this one does, at of all things, church discipline. The Outer Hebridees are the most Christian part of the UK. Where else do people still leave houses unlocked? It helps if you have visited to know the places described here. You journey through the history of Christianity in Scotland, from its first missionaries to Reformation, the coming of evangelical Presbyterianism and its subsequent splits. The divisions are dealt with in historical detail save for the latest split in the Free Church over which the author maintains a discreet silence as his father was at its centre. Here you learn the church history of a special island but much more also about its distinctive culture. Where else has a minister refused to meet the Queen because he adjudged he a sabbath breaker? As well as laughter this book also moved me to tears over the disaster of January 1919 which was the worst British peacetime maritime loss since the Titanic. The reaction of one elder to the loss of his sons is a wonderful story of island Calvinistic piety. A special place, special people and a very special history book full of anecdotes of Christian piety and pastoral care. No hagiography. but some debinking of A W Pink and Duncan Campbell and the latter's claim to have started revival. MacLeod relates how the revival predated the arrival of Campbell. It is astonishing to read how sober Presbyterians could behave like the followers of Wimber were later to do. This is a book of surprises.