Customer Reviews
gets better as it goes on - By: Dr. D. Fraser, 17 May 2007 
There have been numerous books written about St Kilda & the evacuation. This work, & Charles McLean's 'Island on the Edge of the World' are probably the most comprehensive & best known.
Whilst reading this book, my early impressions were that it was pretty poorin comparison to Mclean's, which gives a much better account of the day to day existance of islanders & their customs. However, once nearer to the end of Steel's book I realised that it is really covering a different series of events to Mcleans. Whereas Mclean gives a fascinating account of life on St Kilda, Steels book is more concerned with the years immediately leading up to the evacuation & the reasons for the evacuation. It also deals at considerable length with the fortunes of the St Kildans post-evacuation, & looksin detail at the happenings on the island since evacuation.
So, although some parts of the book are a bit of a toil (e.g. numerous pages discussing GPO system)it's probably worth 5 starsin the round.
Nearly reduced me to tears - By: Buzzinhornet, 09 Aug 2006 
I bought this book the day after I landed on St. Kilda & combined with the visit it really paints a picture of the St. Kildan's remote island life. It mixes the idyllic with the hardships & teaches us a thing or two about the impact of money & greed. Unfortunately my great grandfather doesn't get a mention!
A fascinating read, my only criticism of which would be that there's only so much one can say about the birds.
Interesting Read - By: Walsall Wench, 28 Apr 2003 I discovered the existence of St Kilda whilst holidaying on Scotland & was curious to discover more. This book covers the history & facts of the Island but adds lot of personal interest with how the Islanders lived & survived on the island up until the evacuationin the 1930's. Educational & enjoyable.
Life and Death of St Kilda - By: Daryl Brown, 02 Jan 2003 Despite being classed as an educational read, which might put most people off I recommend this book! It talks about a society, enclosed on a archipelago of small islands. A society that had survived for centuries to be destroyed not by nature or by themselves but by mainland civilisation! The book tells their story & discussesin more detail the reason why the villagers were evacuatedin the 1930's. The book has insets of pictures which provides a visible insight into the world & people you read about! There are also some informative maps at the front of the book. When reading the book, it allows you to be an invisible observer during the last few days of inhabitance on the island. It is a fascinating & touching read that leaves you asking the question, 'Is St Kilda a microcosm of the bigger world, does it's demise represent the fate of the worldin general?'
Fantastic Book, Highly Recommended!
An astonishing account of life on a rock in the Atlantic - By: slieverue@hotmail.com, 24 Jan 2001 It may not be "unputdownable", but it is definately worth taking the time to read. The book takes you from beginnings of known history on St. Kilda, through to the evacuation & the main causes for it, & onto the islands new role as a bird sanctury & a milatary observation base. It tells a story of a way of life that you would have thought could not have existedin such a barren & wild outcrop of rock. It is fasinating tale of how they existed from day to day with the poorest of resources. The St. Kildans lived on seabirds, sheep & anything else they could fashion into a commodity for centuries, but ultimately they had to give way to "progress". Society of the 1920's couldn't understand how these people could live or even want to live on this rocky outcrop. So, with the population declining & the average age of the islanders increasing it was decided to re-house these people for their own good on the mainland. The book carries on after the evacuation & tends to get a little sentimental near the end, as you realise that the author has been touched by his experiences & tries to convey this. Altogether, it is an education to read, but don't let that stop you as you will enjoy it!
