From the Butt of Lewis in the north to Barra Head in the south the Western Islands form a unique part of Scotland a rocky chain of islands 130 miles long cut off from the Mainland by the Minch as effectively as the Channel separates Britain as a whole from the rest of Europe. Despite their diversity in history and landscape Harris and Lewis North and South Uist Benbecula Barra and the smaller islands have been united by the struggle against a sometimes harsh environment and the first to maintain their independent economic and cultural identitywhether against the Fife Adventurers in 1598 or the land clearances of Victorian times which saw so many superfluous Islanders dispatched overseas.But The Western Islands of Scotland is not a nostalgic look at a people in retreat. Illustrated with outstanding color and blackandwhite photographs which emphasize the megaliths castles crafts and seamanship Francis Thompson records a linguistic and cultural heritage which is now staging a forceful comeback after centuries of retreat.