Alumni Services

August 2013

Each month, we bring you a selection of new books written by Edinburgh alumni. This month Ian Wotherspoon explores the relationship between Scotland and China and J.M. Hirsch shows you how to beat the lunch box blues.

Esther Breitenbach

Author Esther Breitenbach
Edinburgh degree Sociology 2005
Book Scottish Women: A Documentary History, 1780-1914

Co-written by Linda Fleming, S. Karly Kehoe and Lesley Orr, this book is a sourcebook illustrating the experience of Scottish women from 1780-1914. Drawing on a wide range of source materials from across Scotland, this sourcebook provides new insights into women’s attitudes to the society in which they lived, and how they negotiated their identities within private and public life. Published by Edinburgh University Press.

Jane Campbell

Author Jane Campbell
Edinburgh degree BA 1975, MBA 1992
Book Climb the Career Ladder in Circles

Business professional Jane Campbell tells you how to climb your career ladder in circles by using My Career Circle to create a visual image of where you are today and where you would like to be in the future. Jane uses her expertise to provide tips and direct you to other resources.

Bill Dunlop

Author Bill Dunlop
Edinburgh degree History 1984
Book Playing the Air

Described by Bill himself as "'a black comedy thriller with historical outbursts", Playing the Air tells the story of Luce Cameron who doesn't want to go home, not even when her dying godfather tells her there is a lost manuscript to be found there. She persuades theatre technician Ninian Tulloch to go to Dunpark House in her stead. He finds himself traveling in the company of promising comedian Eddie Corcoran and on-the-run Rob Ainslie, but none of them expect the undivided attention of relentless Inspector Maurice Macquarie. Caught up in a plot to retrieve smuggled diamonds from Dunpark House, the hapless trio endure life-threatening experiences.

J.M. Hirsch

Author J.M. Hirsch
Edinburgh degree Arts 1994
Book Beating the Lunch Box Blues: Fresh Ideas for Lunches on the Go!

Food writer J.M. Hirsch's latest book is aimed at those who are longing for more than a limp salad for lunch, those, he says who have 'the lunch box blues'. His latest book will inspire anyone daunted by the daily ordeal of packing lunch. Jammed with nearly 200 photos and more than 500 tips and meals, this book is designed to save families time, money, and their sanity.

Ian Wotherspoon

Author Ian Wotherspoon
Edinburgh degree Scottish Historical Studies 1969, PhD History 2002
Book The Scots and China, 1750-2000

From the 18th century onwards, Scots came to China to trade in tea, opium, silks and spices. They sought to prise open the doors of the Celestial Empire to foreign influence and guide enquiring Chinese minds along western lines. Dr. Huang Kuan, for example, was the first Chinese to qualify in western medicine in Europe, graduating from Edinburgh University in 1855.

Why people from Scotland, one of the smallest countries in Europe, came to have such a significant influence on one of the world’s largest nations, is the focus of this fascinating study just published by Amazon. It also considers the development of Scotland’s vibrant ethnic Chinese community.