Ian R. Mitchell

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It is January 2017. Donald Trump has just assumed the US presidency and become the world's most powerful man. The world is in shock - and fear, as it watches the jubilation this event causes over large parts of the United States. Two friends set out on a road trip through the American West, just subsequent to the inauguration. One is Thomas, a Scottish freelance journalist, who is looking for copy for newspaper articles. The other is Louis, an American, a recently-divorced academic who has lived in Europe for over 20 years, and, stunned by the election result, wants to "find America." The journey starts in El Paso where "no-one goes on vacation" and takes them on an Odyssey through the back country of West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona ....... They encounter the death agonies of rural and small town America in abandoned mining towns and witness agricultural decay, in an area unknown to many Americans. This is Trumpland, the boondocks fly-over states of ill educated and very angry people who are both witnessing and experiencing at first hand the Decline of the American Empire. The two friends' encounters with Trump's constituency are mitigated by meetings with the isolated and contrasting communities of ageing hippie drop outs, Native Americans, Hispanics and Mormons who also inhabit these little-known regions. Life as ever in the USA imitates art, and an unwelcome incident on the Mexican border causes the friends to change their travel plans; the road trip becomes a road flight that blows their odyssey totally off course and takes them to physical and emotional destinations unforeseen, and on a journey that will change both their lives in unexpected directions. Set in the template of the "out west" road novel, Ghost Dance is a serious work of political fiction, a state of the nation narrative which is based on the author's thorough grounding in the history, culture and social structures of the US West. The novel illustrates in chilling fashion both the anger and hate which brought Trump to power, and the frightening portents this triumph carries for America and the rest of world, through the experience of two men grappling with forces at the limits of their comprehension, and beyond the limits of their control.

What are the rules of etiquette in a bothy full of strangers? How cold, exactly, can a Scottish summer get? And how many cans of beer can a man carry whilst fording a swollen river? Second Man on the Rope tackles all these questions and more, a celebrating Scotland’s mountains come sun, sleet or snow, through the stories of a great climbing partnership. Ranging from the Cairngorms to Glencoe, from Nevis to Knoydart and from the Cuillin to the Cobbler, this book weaves the story of a friendship amongst witty – and often alarming – tales of mountaineering mishaps. These richly entertaining tales will delight all who love the Scottish hills – be they mountaineers, day-outers, Munro-baggers (like the author) or merely armchair ramblers. Written with a wealth of knowledge, this mountaineering classic is a warm and witty celebration of friendship, forged over many years, between the author and his ‘first man’ – Davie. Together they form one of the great double acts of climbing literature. They face with humour and fortitude all that the mountains can pit against them – winter avalanches, raging rivers, rats in bothies and Brummies in baseball boots.

Acclaimed hillwalking writers Ian R Mitchell and George Rodway tell the fascinating story of Aberdeen-born Alexander Kellas, and his contribution to mountaineering from the 20th century to the present day. Now a largely neglected figure, Kellas is the pioneer of high altitude physiology, his climbing routes still in evidence today. Follow Kellas' journey, which takes him from the Scottish Cairngorms to the Himalaya, and discover how his struggles and explorations have impacted upon mountaineering today.

Join Ian R Mitchell on a series of walks through Glasgow's industrial past as he retrieves the hidden architectural, cultural and historical riches of some of Glasgow's industrial and working-class districts. Many who enjoy the fruits of Glasgow's recent gentrification may be surprised and delighted by the gems. Ian Mitchell has uncovered beyond the usual haunts. An enthusiastic walker and knowledgeable historian, he invites us to recapture the social and political history of the working class in Glasgow. Taking in area including Pollokshaws, Springburn, Maryhill and Parkhead, Mitchell reveals the buildings that go unnoticed every day yet are worthy of so much more attention, and the stories behind them and their inhabitants. You will be inspired to follow in Mitchell’s footsteps and explore the Glasgow you thought you knew, and you will never be able to walk through Glasgow in the same way again.

With this book is completed a trilogy of works begun in 2005 with This City Now: Glasgow and its Working Class Past, and continuing with Clydeside; Red Orange and Green in 2009. The three books have all had similar aims in trying to raise the profile of forgotten or neglected areas and aspects of Glasgow and its history, in a small way trying to boost the esteem in which such places are held by the people who live in there and by those who visit. Moving away slightly from the working class focus, this third instalment presents a broad view of Glasgow’s industrial, social and intellectual history. From public art to socialist memorials, and from factories to cultural hubs, Ian Mitchell takes the reader on a guided tour of Glasgow, outlining walking routes which encompass the city’s forgotten icons.

This work tells the story of explorations and ascents in the Scottish Highlands in the days before mountaineering became a popular sport - when Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers traditionally used the mountains as sanctuary.

Ian R Mitchell recognises his hometown is an often underloved place, but in Aberdeen: Beyond the Granite he sets out an overwhelming case as to why this sentiment is thoroughly undeserved. An Aberdonian born and bred, Mitchell has lived in Glasgow for almost four decades. Returning to his roots, he delves into Aberdeen's rich and often unseen history and culture from an exile's perspective, revealing a proudly unique city, home to the world's oldest surviving company, the UK's oldest newspaper, and perhaps Britain's oldest Italian restaurant!

Ian R. Mitchell takes the reader on an urban promenade along the Clyde and finds its character is created from far more than the remnants of shipbuilding. "Clydeside" relates stories of conflicts, people and communities, while incorporating present-day walks in these oft-forgotten areas, to allow the reader to fully appreciate the culture and history. Exploring more than just Glasgow itself, the book meanders from Coatbridge to Cathcart, Garngad to Greencock. Proving there's far more to Paisley than a deceased weaving industry, more to Shettleston than the old mining days and more to Dumbarton than the Black Death, Mitchell depicts a largely unseen side to the diverse towns and villages along the Clyde. From Robert Owen's New Lanark utopian experiment to the fascinating architecture of 'Greek' Thomson, here is a working-class history rich in political and industrial venture.

Fed up of anaemic books about mountains, about being poor and happy and mystical fulfilment? Then this is the book for you, tearing the veil from the culture clashes and conflicts on the hills. What happens if you go in search of the American Dream in Colorado, or Celtic Twilight in the Cuillins? And how do the mountains alter the pattern of male/female sexual behaviour? This book presents a different approach, but one that aims to answer just why the mountains exert such fascination over so many people.

This City Now sets out to retrieve the hidden architectural, cultural and historical riches of some of Glasgows working-class districts. Many who enjoy the fruits of Glasgows recent gentrification may be surprised and delighted by the gems which Ian Mitchell has uncovered beyond the usual haunts.

The amazing story of Ewan Macphee, Scotland's last bandit. In 1850 Ewan MacPhee, these islands' last outlaw, died awaiting trail in jail in Fort William. This was a man who: had been forced to enlist at the time of the Napoloenic wars, and deserted; lived as an outlaw and rustler in Lochaber for over 20 years; had several capital offences hanging over his head; was a hero to the local peasantry at the time of the Clearances; and abducted a wife - who became his firmest ally in conflicts with the law. MacPhee has fascinated Ian R. Mitchell for many years. He has sifted the surviving information on the outlaw, examined many of the legends associated with him, bridge the gaps with an imagination of great authenticity, to produce Mountain Outlaw, a historical-creative account of MacPhee's life. He did not exist at the high tide of Highland internecine warfare...but at a time when traditional Highland society had all but been destroyed. He lived not in the time of the Jacobite Rebellions...but in the era of steamships, railways and scientific advance. He waged a lonely and ultimately hopeless fight against the modern world... His tale...deserves to be told in a way that illuminates its epoch, and it is not without significance for our own.

Part of a series of guides looking at key figures and themes, this work follows the trail of Queen Victoria on her numerous visits to the Highlands, and contains photographs from the Washington Wilson collection. It provides a historical biography as well as a contemporary travel guide book.

Acknowledged as a classic of mountain writing, this book takes you into the bothies, howffs and dosses on the Scottish hills as Fishgut Mac, Desperate Dan and Stumpy the Big Yin stalk hill and public house, evading gamekeepers and Royalty.