An evocative social history of Europe's peatlands, moors, bogs and heaths.

A good story, well-told

Vorwort
An evocative social history of Europe's peatlands, moors, bogs and heaths.

Autorentext
Donald S. Murray comes from Ness at the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis and now lives in Shetland. An award-winning writer, playwright and poet, Donald is the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books, including As the Women Lay Dreaming, The Dark Stuff and Herring Tales, which was one of The Guardian's nature books of the year in 2015.

Klappentext

An evocative social history of Europe's peatlands, moors, bogs and heaths. Donald S. Murray spent much of his childhood either playing or working on the moor, chasing sheep across empty acres and cutting and gathering peat for fuel. The Dark Stuff is an examination of how this landscape affected him and others. Donald explores his early life on the Isle of Lewis together with the experiences of those who lived near moors much further afield, from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and even Australia. Examining this environment in all its roles and guises, Donald reflects on the ways that for centuries humans have represented the moor in literature, art and folktale, and he reveals how in some countries, these habitats remain an essential aspect of their industrial heritage and working life today. On his journey, Donald confronts the unexpected - how Europe's peatlands are part of the dark heart of that continent, playing a crucial role in the history of crime and punishment in several countries. He also examines our current perception of moorland, asking how - for the sake, perhaps, of our planet's survival - we can learn to love a landscape we have all too often in our history denigrated, feared and despised.

Inhalt

PART 1: Ru`sgadh - Turfing
Chapter 1: Fraoch (Scottish Gaelic) - Heather
Chapter 2: Lyng (Danish) - Heather
Chapter 3: Heide (Dutch) - Heather

PART 2: Moine Bhan - White Peat
Chapter 4: Vaalea Rahkasammalturve (Finnish) - White Peat
Chapter 5: Grauveen (Dutch) - Grey Turf
Chapter 6: Skyumpik (Shetland) - Mossy Peat
Chapter 7: Svörður (eastern Iceland) - Turf, Peat

PART 3: Fad a' Gharraidh - The Wall Peat
Chapter 8: Möini n Pollach (Irish) - Small Pitted Bogs
Chapter 9: Bluster (Shetland) - Rough Peat

PART 4: Mo`ine Dhubh - Caoran - Black Peat
Chapter 10: Blue Clod (Shetland) - Dark Peat
Chapter 11: Musta Turve (Finnish) - Black Peat
Chapter 12: Schwarztorf (German) - Black Peat

PART 5: Rathad an Isein - The Birds' Path
Chapter 13: Su`il-chruthaich (Scottish Gaelic) - Quagmire or Bog, literally 'the eye of creation'

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A Spadar Gives Thanks...
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