Island on the Edge of the World: The Story of St. Kilda

A thorough primer on the history of the remote Scottish island of St Kilda, from its first settlers in Neolithic times to its evacuation in 1930. MacLean's accounts of day to day life on the island are fascinating, particularly the tales of the daily parliaments and the fulmar hunts. This was a simple society, thriving in the harshest of environments, until organised religion arrived in the 1800s and disrupted its well-established routines, and the advent of the tourist trade brought new diseases that the isolated St Kildans had no immunity against. A compelling and ultimately heartbreaking story, and one we should take care to learn from.