Book reviews

PAW TRACKS IN THE MOONLIGHT, by Denis O’Connor. Published by Constable (www.constablerobinson.com). £7.99. Softback.

THE adventures and misadventures of one man (the author) and his cat Toby Jug make a touching and funny story set in rural Northumberland that chronicles the ups and downs, and laughter and tears of their relationship which begin when ...


IT’S MY LIFE! 1960s NEWCASTLE, edited by Anna Flowers and Vanessa Histon. Published by Tyne Bridge Publishing, Newcastle Libraries, PO Box 88, Newcastle NE99 1DX. £10 (+£1p&p). Softback.

IN a decade when Newcastle was very nearly as cool as Liverpool, with the Club A’Gogo a Geordie Cavern Club and The Animals our home-grown Beatles, the city was really happening. And after Tyne Bridge Publishing ran an appeal for ...


MEMORIES OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND COALFIELDS, by Neil Taylor. Published by Countryside Books, Newbury (tel: 01635 43816 ) £8.99. Softback.

THE Ellington author of this book, himself a former miner, takes a nostalgic look at the county’s mines and the men who worked in the coalfield based on interviews with ex-miners and their families. He uses their own words to ...


NORTHUMBERLAND STRONGHOLDS, by Ed Geldard. Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd, London. (tel: 020 7284 4009). £16.99. Hardback.

THIS comprehensive survey, which features 75 castles, bastles, pele towers and battlemented country houses, explains their importance and architecture and retells their dramatic and bloody stories, accompanied by the high-quality ...


HORNCLIFFE: A NORTHUMBRIAN BORDER VILLAGE, by Sheila Elliott. Published by the author, c/o Horncliffe Mill, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 2XT. £4.50 (incl p&p). Softback.

HAVING lived in the village for 40 years, the author has based this history on a collection of archive records and literary references, together with spoken memories and old photographs contributed by many village families. From ...


FOLKLORE OF NORTHUMBRIA, by Fran and Geoff Doel. Published by The History Press, Stroud, Glos (tel: 01235 465500). £14.99. Softback.

DRAWING on a wide range of printed, manuscript and oral material, the authors explore the folklore, legends, customs and songs of the region, from King Arthur to St Cuthbert, witches to faerie folk and superstitions to sword ...


NEWCASTLE & GATESHEAD, by Grace McCombie. A Pevsner Architectural Guide published by Yale University Press (www.yalebooks.co.uk). £9.99. Softback.

THIS expert survey of buildings on Tyneside includes all the architectural highlights of the area from Newcastle’s St Nicholas Cathedral, medieval castle and Grainger Town (the first planned 19th century city centre in Britain) to ...


NORTHUMBERLAND ILLUMINATED, by David Taylor. Published by Halsgrove.www.halsgrove.com. £14.99. Hardback.

To capture the striking ‘after dark’ images in this book, the award-winning Hexham landscape photographer illuminated subjects in towns, villages, countryside and coast by an artificial light source including candles, fireworks, ...


CUTHBERT AND THE NORTHUMBRIAN SAINTS, by Paul Frodsham. Published by Northern Heritage Publishing (www.northern-heritage.co.uk; tel: 01670 789940). £12.99. Softback.

THIS latest book from the well-known archaeologist has been produced in collaboration with the Golden Age of Northumbria Project which has gathered together local community groups, archaeological projects, churches, schools, theatre ...


CAMP SHATILA: A WRITER’S CHRONICLE, by Peter Mortimer. Published by Five Leaves Publications (tel: 0115 969 3597). £8.99. Softback.

THIS book entertainingly and movingly chronicles the writer’s experiences during a two -month stay at Camp Shatila on the outskirts of Beirut. He arrived apprehensive but undeterred by the advice of a friend that he was, at 64, ...


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