The Immeasurable Wilds: Travellers to the Far North of Scotland

I am pleased to say that my book, The Immeasurable Wilds: Travellers to the Far North of Scotland 1600 - 1900 has been well received.

The comments that gave me the most satisfaction were by Ceri Patterson-Nairn, in an online review in the April edition of  Wittance, an "online magazine focusing on all things Scottish....". Ceri wrote that "The Immeasurable Wilds , an engrossing read; I discovered this with some surprise as I am not someone who is normally absorbed by non-fiction....I started right at the beginning and I'm very glad I did." She continues with such compliments as "Incredibly the (not insignificant) research carried out for the book was....a solitary effort. He breathes life into the accompanying sketches and photographs....Whether you have an interest in Scotland's landscape or her history, or if you are looking to read an informative text that reads like a novel, you will not be disappointed."  My thanks to Ceri for her review.

Other reviews:

Undiscovered Scotland: "....a fascinating book that will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the north of Scotland....a wonderful and superbly researched distillation of the travels and discoveries of three centuries of earlier visitors to the area...."

Scottish Field: "...a truly engaging history about one of Scotland's lesser known regions."

Ross-shire Journal: (Katherine Douglas) "The Immeasurable Wilds" is a book I feel will become an important part of Scotland's history for years to come...."

Travel and Lifestyle Magazine: "Author Alastair Mitchell has researched with enthusiasm how the far north was revealed through early travellers....with accompanying photographs and maps, a must for people who have a real interest in the discovery of areas and their people."

5 stars on Amazon (1 review).

Waterstones in Inverness: Vanessa writes "Great writing, great topic."

Eason: "...an absorbing read."

In the interest of fairness, I must mention that there has been one rather more lukewarm comment on "Goodreads". Whilst acknowledging that I have assembled "interesting illustrative material", Graeme thinks my book is "laden with the anglocentric prejudices of a Victorian gentleman's club", and is unhappy with my use of John MacCulloch as a source. In a repost on the Goodreads site, I point out that I warn the reader of the controversial nature of MacCulloch's writing in the introduction, but believe that he knew Scotland as well as anyone visiting in the early 19th century. To ignore his observations simply because you don't like his politics would be a great mistake. I also feel that Graeme's review ignores the fact that the traveller's accounts to which I think he objects form only a small proportion of the contents of the book. Much of it deals with mapping, road-building, improvements, and science (particularly geology). I hope that Graeme has confused 'patronising' with 'entertaining'. He does give me 3 stars out of 5, and for a rounded view, do please read his comments on the Goodread site.