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"Northern Lights reveals Scotland's previously unsung role in the remarkable history of Arctic exploration. There was the intrepid John Ross, an eccentric hell-raiser from Stranraer and a veteran of three Arctic expeditions; his nephew, James Clark Ross, the most experienced explorer of his generation and discoverer of the Magnetic North Pole; Dr. John Richardson of Dumfries, who became an accidental cannibal and deliberate executionaer of a murderer as well as an engaging natural historian; and Orcadian John Rae, the man who first discovered evidence of Sir John Franklin and his crew's demise. Northern Lights also pays tribute and reveals other overlooked stories in this fascinating era of history: the Scotch Irish, the whalers, and especially the Inuit, whose unparalleled knowledge of the Arctic environment was often indispensible." --
About the author
Edward Cowan is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies in Dumfries. Until 2009 he was Professor of Scottish History and Director of the Crichton Campus. He has written widely on the history of Viking Scotland, early modern Scottish political thought, Scottish popular culture and Scottish emigration history.
