Father's Day Books!

It’s always difficult buying Father’s day gifts that’s why we have picked out a couple of books that we are sure your Dad will love. Whither he is a crime nut or a golfing mad old foggy we have something for him here. Remember getting him a poor Fathers day present, or none at all, could lead him to question why he is giving you an allowance.

Risking life, limb and liver to get there, in 1985 a motley bunch of plumbers, teachers, slaters and social workers found themselves at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London in the final of the biggest prize in village cricket.Hailing from the tiny and unpronounceable village of Freuchie in Fife (population 1476), ‘Dad’s Army’ as the team was known fought their way past 637 other teams to paint Lord’s tartan, battling to take the Haig National Village Cup north of the border for the first time. Soaked in blood, sweat, tears and whisky, this is the stirring, touching, infuriating and comical story of how a group of underdogs got to be top dogs in the mad, bad and dangerous world of village cricket. It just wasn’t cricket, old chap, but it was a fantastic story!

Charles Maclean’s Whiskypedia
A Gazetteer of Scotch Whisky
Charles MacLean
£16.99 hbk

For less than the cost of a decent bottle of malt, enjoy a personal tour of every whisky distillery in Scotland – even those that are closed! – with a guide as witty and interesting as he is knowledgeable. Award-winning whisky writer and world expert on the subject Charles MacLean shares his expert knowledge, not only of Scotch whisky and the distilleries behind it, but also the history, techniques and curiosities that make this the most magical of drinks. Malt whisky is the quintessential ‘spirit of place’, and this element of the story has been captured by John Macpherson’s camera in specially commissioned images which compliment the text. This is a wholly new approach to understanding and enjoying Scotch malt whisky, by the foremost authority on the subject in collaboration with one of the country’s leading photographers. As entertaining as it is informative Charles MacLean’s Whiskypedia is the last word in whisky. Just before, “Cheers!”

Crimespotting 
An Edinburgh Crime Collection
Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Brookmyre, John Burnside, Isla Dewar, A L Kennedy, Denise Mina, Ian Rankin and James Robertson, with an introduction by Irvine Welsh
£6.99 pbk

It was a criminally simple MO - a story which featured a crime and was set in Edinburgh, but the suspects were anything but usual. Just some of the biggest and bestselling writers around - guilty as charged - including godfathers, and godmothers Ian Rankin, Christopher Brookmyre and Margaret Atwood. There’s everything from brilliant hard-boiled police procedural to hot historical whodunit. Get caught red handed laughing at the wildly comic or scare the pants off the SOCOs with stories of the spookily supernatural. Perfect for ‘old lag’ fans of crime writing the country over and an ideal intro to new blood. Sounds like an open and shut case of a great collection of crime stories, doesn’t it? Proceeds from sales of the book support local charities, so for once it seems crime does actually pay.

A Major Obsession.
One Fan, Four Championships
Kenny Reid
£12.99 pbk

For over 30 years Kenny Reid avidly followed golf’s major championships – The Masters, the US Open, The Open and the PGA Championship. Then one year he decided to go a step further. He decided that it was time to live the dream of all golf enthusiasts and embark on the ultimate ‘fan slam’ to each of the four majors all in a single year. Neither a journalist nor a golf insider, Kenny records the excitement, surprises, mishaps and feats of brilliance from a fan’s eye view. From the sublime to the ridiculous, this is his original, quirky and brilliantly insightful account of the most spectacular golf tournaments in the world. For armchair golf fans everywhere, this is a ‘grand slam’ gift idea!