Isles of the North - Softcover

Mitchell, Ian

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10 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841589446 ISBN 13: 9781841589442

Publisher: Birlinn, 2012

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In the summer of 2002, Mitchell set sail aboard the 30-foot yacht Foggy Dew on a voyage that took him from his home through the Western Isles to Orkney and Shetland and on to the west coast of Norway. Against the backdrop of one of the world's most spectacular coastlines, he sailed up the Nordfjord, down to Bergen, then out to Utsira, and back home via Inverness. The object of his journey was more than just to enjoy a few contemplative drams during a summer at sea. In this sequel to his much acclaimed Isles of the West (1999), Mitchell continues his investigation into official Britain's failure to administer rural Scotland for the mutual benefit of people and nature. Ian Mitchell's narrative combines authoritative background information and personal interviews with local people, many enlivened by the measured dispensation of Scotland's most famous aid to creative thought. He shows how Norway, a country outside the EU and therefore in control of its own resources, has been able to give a wide measure of freedom to the sort of communities which in Scotland are subject to debilitating control by Edinburgh, London and Brussels. He points to many lessons which centralised, bureaucratic Britain could learn from its more democratic neighbour across the North Sea.

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About the Author:

Ian Mitchell was born and brought up in Yorkshire and earned a BA in History from Lancaster University. He began his working life as a librarian working for the Royal Navy. This experience led him to join the Royal Naval Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman in 1979 before being commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1982. In 1986 Ian transferred to British Army where he served in a range of education and training roles in the UK and Germany. He left the Army as a Major in 1997 to pursue a third career working on major training projects in the defence industry before taking early retirement in 2013. His passionate interest in military history started while he was a teenager and has continued throughout his life. He was inspired to research and then write about the Battle of the Peaks after reading Gregory Blaxland’s book, ‘The Plain Cook and The Great Showman’ and visiting Tunisia in 2008. Ian is married to Alison and they now divide their time between Wiltshire and Scotland. In addition to military and naval history his interests include playing golf, travel and acting as a battlefield guide. This is his first book.

Review:

an engaging eccentric writer, with a style that can irritate, delight,inform and provoke serious reflection- all in equal measure\ (The Herald)

an engaging eccentric writer, with a style that can irritate, delight,inform and provoke serious reflection- all in equal measure' (The Herald)

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