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bgg616's review against another edition
5.0
Between weathers is a Shetland term that seems to refer to a fine day. McMillan spent a number of weeks exploring the geography, history, landscape and people of the Shetland Islands, a place that locals simply call Shetland. It is a remarkable place. There are off shore islands, such as Foula, which are easily visible from shore, and very difficult to reach. There are islands where local feuds undermine community unity.
McMillan also shares a great deal of local history. Before the oil boom, Shetland was a poor place. In past centuries, lairds ruled over their lives, and were often merciless. I have been to Shetland twice, and it is a place I plan to visit again. MacMillan shares just how much there is to see in Shetland. Much of what MacMillan accomplished is not for the faint hearted, as he describes climbing up to sea cliffs in order to experience the unparalleled views that Shetland provides.
As a lover of Shetland knitting, Shetland sheep and wool, and the whole history of Shetland fiber, this was one aspect of Shetland that I missed in his book. However, I do have a number of books on those topics. MacMillan's book is a must-read for anyone interested in Shetland, Scotland, and islands.
McMillan also shares a great deal of local history. Before the oil boom, Shetland was a poor place. In past centuries, lairds ruled over their lives, and were often merciless. I have been to Shetland twice, and it is a place I plan to visit again. MacMillan shares just how much there is to see in Shetland. Much of what MacMillan accomplished is not for the faint hearted, as he describes climbing up to sea cliffs in order to experience the unparalleled views that Shetland provides.
As a lover of Shetland knitting, Shetland sheep and wool, and the whole history of Shetland fiber, this was one aspect of Shetland that I missed in his book. However, I do have a number of books on those topics. MacMillan's book is a must-read for anyone interested in Shetland, Scotland, and islands.
jimgosailing's review
4.0
I would’ve never read this but for having traveled to Shetland in 2019. (Wonderful place; can’t wait to go back).
McMillan writes in a familiar style as if you’re sitting elbow to elbow with him at the bar in the pub quaffing a few pints as he walks you through his travels.
He does an excellent job of weaving historical facts in with interviews of current inhabitants, while exploring the social-economic changes over recent decades and across centuries. And he talks about his travails while traveling. One tale that resonated with me was his borrowing a car and being warned about the wind being able to blow off the doors (but what about the trunk lid?). Our rental car had a sticker glued to the dashboard in stark red type warning about strong winds and the doors- and the insurance did not cover this damage. My years of sailing came in handy, always judging the wind when parking so the front of the car was pointed into the wind.
One astute observation concerns archeology in the area. The guide “...points out an eroded slope that from time to time delivers up shards of pottery and other artifacts from a Neolithic homestead. One-hundred-and-forty kilometers to the south-west, Skara Brae in Orkney is one of the most celebrated Neolithic homesteads on the planet, while here on Foula, unexcavated and slowly giving itself up to the combined might of the climate and the ocean, evidence of Foula’s own Neolithic history sits unmarked and unexplored.”
McMillan writes in a familiar style as if you’re sitting elbow to elbow with him at the bar in the pub quaffing a few pints as he walks you through his travels.
He does an excellent job of weaving historical facts in with interviews of current inhabitants, while exploring the social-economic changes over recent decades and across centuries. And he talks about his travails while traveling. One tale that resonated with me was his borrowing a car and being warned about the wind being able to blow off the doors (but what about the trunk lid?). Our rental car had a sticker glued to the dashboard in stark red type warning about strong winds and the doors- and the insurance did not cover this damage. My years of sailing came in handy, always judging the wind when parking so the front of the car was pointed into the wind.
One astute observation concerns archeology in the area. The guide “...points out an eroded slope that from time to time delivers up shards of pottery and other artifacts from a Neolithic homestead. One-hundred-and-forty kilometers to the south-west, Skara Brae in Orkney is one of the most celebrated Neolithic homesteads on the planet, while here on Foula, unexcavated and slowly giving itself up to the combined might of the climate and the ocean, evidence of Foula’s own Neolithic history sits unmarked and unexplored.”
late_stranger's review
4.0
I'm ambivalent about the nature writing shelf for this book, because it is more of a general, people-and-history type travel book, but the place features strongly enough that I'm willing to make the categorization. McMillan is a really thorough observer, which causes me to forgive his occasional sins (some incidental, boring misogyny directed out at celebrities rather than at people he directly encounters and some weird but also incidental apologetics for Britain's colonial projects). An interesting nuance of the book is that Shetland is sustained (and has been for a long time) by some problematic through to pretty evil industries, and the ethics of those industries (commercial fishing, whaling, military outposts, and oil) are not abstract - they're integral to lifeline jobs for whole communities, and the people who have those jobs have really interesting relationships to them, which sometimes are addressed head on and sometimes only obliquely. Overall I was quite impressed.
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