Travels in the Celtic World

John Walker is a professor of Spanish studies at Queen’s University.

The Celts are in fashion these days. Several recent books and a
television series on the Learning Channel have contributed to a
resurgence of interest in this strange, powerful tribe, whose mixture of
warlike characteristics and civilizing features changed the face of
Western European civilization several hundred years before the Christian
era.

The author belongs to the North America branch of the Celtic family,
which was rooted in Scotland, with close links to other Celts in
Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. Travels in the Celtic World is a
personal odyssey by the Cape Breton native to the land of his fathers.
Composed of a dozen chapters (several originally published as newspaper
articles), the book captures the author’s experiences on motorbike
trips to Scotland and Ireland over the past 14 years, including visits
to Celtic monuments, fortifications, and holy plays. Although the volume
contains something of the history, religion, and archaeology of the
Celts, the personal element—anecdotes, experiences, musical
tastes—is never very far below the surface.

This is a beautifully produced coffee-table book with fine color
photographs. The many references to, and information on, Celtic culture,
education, and music in Cape Breton keep this elegant, yet simply
narrated, volume close to home.