Scottish Country, by Charles MacLean and Christopher Simon Sykes, Clarkson Potter, New York, 1992

Scottish Country struck this demi-book hermit as one of those, "Oh, this is splendid, a must have," a literary love at first leaf-through.

It is not about tartans or kilts, actually not about Scots, so much as about "Scottish-ness," as reflected in lavish, ultra-high quality colour photos of sections on the Highlands, Lowlands, Northeast and Western Isles. Text occupies more or less 20% of the space and is well-written, artfully presented.

A number of residences and their surrounding country are detailed, from manor homes to tower houses to cottages. Art, decour,furnishing, grounds, scenery, ruins, all combine to give the Scot-ophile a feeling of the land, history, people, lifestyle. The vibe.

Highly recommended as a mini- coffee table book.