Orkney: A Historical Guide

If you are looking for concise facts on Orkney history, this is a very good collection of them. It should be used more as an encyclopedia, not read straight through because the author's style is rather plodding, although appearing very accurate.

I like this book because it covered all of the ages and all of the sites found to date. It also covered the climate changes that help explained how some developed.

I purchased this book to acquaint myself with the early history and culture of the Orkney Islands. The book has a focus on sites, and artifacts, but little on the people or culture of the Islands. There is some history which wasn't very comprehensive.

I enjoyed the historical aspect of the book but got bored & moved to other books before returning.It was interesting to read some of the historical links with other countries over the years.

This book was very handy to have for quick reference and information on almost all the major sites in the Orkney Islands. Sufficient descriptions and detail to assist in planning the trip and each day's outings.Good choice and I would recommend it.

A guide-book should describe in critical boundaries a deft touchof the consummate hands-on archaeologist cum historian.Caroline Wickham-Jones does this in an engrossing narrative thatsets forth a chronological history of Orkney from prehistorictimes to the present day.Strongly recommended!Dag StombergSt Andrews, Scotland

A good introduction to the archaeology and history of Orkney. Different chapters provide a general overview of each historical period of Orkney, followed by sites and excavations to illustrate them.Recommended for those with an interest in the history of Orkney, but also for those with an interest in prehistory - especially considering the extensive and unique archaeological sites on the islands, which can provide a rich regional context to wider reading.

This book gives a good basic history of Orkney for people who just want a general knowledge of the history of Orkney. I was going there on holiday, and wanted some background reading before I went.

An excellent summary of the historical sites on these fascinating islands . The author tackles the history in logical order making clear connections with local geography and relationships with the rest of the world. The writing style is fluent and straightforward. Reading on the kindle edition there were not enough maps for my personal taste but all the sites can be located from the book using grid references (supplied) .

A very comprehensive and interesting historical & archaeological guide of the Orkney isles. Well supported by diagrams, photos and references.

Not bad