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Nine Valiant Academicals by Alasdair Macintyre (EA 1943-50)

The book tells the story of nine former pupils of the Edinburgh Academy, all of whom won Victoria Crosses for valour in the face of the enemy. The first to be awarded was to Thomas Cadell, 150 years ago this year. He and two others won their medals in action in the Indian Mutiny. Other medals were won in the Bhutan War, the Afghan Wars, the Boer War and the First and Second World Wars. They are stories of amazing courage and fortitude and Alasdair adds to the picture by recounting tales of other Academical members of their families as well. Profits from the sale of the book are shared between the Edinburgh Academy Foundation Bursaries Fund and the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.

A Turbulent Wake by Henry Marsh

Following on the warm critical reception given to Henry Marsh’s first collection of poems, A First Sighting, this new volume gives us further insight into the mind of one of Scotland’s finest poets.The influence of the Hebrides is again strong here – that world where, as the poet observes, people do not lock their doors – but, as in his first collection, Henry Marsh takes a good deal further here and includes both a number of moving personal poems and more formal reflections on art. The result is a stunning collection.This is a book which gives us a moment of civil company in a strident world; a book which is in every sense lovely; a book with gentle resonances that heal and persist, like the memories of those beguiling islands that shape many of these poems.
Alexander McCall Smith

175 Accies by Bill Stirling

Written by a much loved and sadly recently deceased former member of The Academy teaching staff, "175 Accies" celebrated the school's one hundred and seventy fifth anniversary by looking at the lives of 175 former pupils. Selected by Bill himself, these range from the eminent physicist James Clerk Maxwell to a little known Accie who fought at Custer's Last Stand.

A First Sighting by Henry Marsh

"This is fine poetry - measured, delicate and utterly beautiful. The voice is at all times assured, the insights profound. And it is impossible not to be moved by the grave beauty of the language."

Alexander McCall Smith