Customer Reviews
worth 10 stars - By: Dr. D. Fraser, 29 Mar 2007 
I've read this book over & over, & nevel tire of it.
This book elequently tells us the story of this amazing island. The everyday life, the harshest existance, the terrible infant death rates, the effect of the austere presbyterian "wee frees" are all coveredin enthralling detail. Sadly the island eventually succummed to outside influences, &in the later days the once proud islanders beame dependent on the charity of outsiders. In that, they were a micrososm of native communities around the world.
If you like this book then I can heartily recommend "The edge of the world" - a film (available on video) which was filmed on the Shetland island of Foulain the 1930's & told (loosely) the story of the St Kilda evacuation.
Life on the edge of the world - By: G. Page, 18 Sep 2006 This is an amazing book, one of the best I have read, painting a picture of the fascinating island community off the west coast of Scotland, until it was finally depopulatedin 1930. The harsh lifestyle of the St Kildans, climbing precipitous cliffs hunting seabirds, proving their marital worth by extremely hazardous acts of climbing, & the government of a small community are all eloquently told. The story has themes of real tragedy; the pernicious effect the arrival of the strictest Scottish Presbyterianism had on St Kildans; the impact of tourism via steamship cruise landings & the shattering decisionsin the 1920s that human occupation of St Kilda was no longer socially or economically viable. Charles Maclean also includes some stunning photos of island geography & life. This book gives real insight into the community & makes you want to visit the island
