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Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
 The Forgotten Highlander March 1, 2010
Matthew D. Low (Scotland)
77 out of 77 found this review helpful
The facinating insights into a by-gone era of Aberdeen's pre-war dance halls are the simple backdrop to this story of a simple man yanked out of his life at the point of reaching manhood to have it changed forever.
This was the lot of Mr Urquhart's generation, but The Forgotten Highlander is no hackneyed World War Two memoir, and I've read a few.
A reader may be familiar with the events that Urquhart found thrust upon him, but never have they been laid so bare as here. The joyous, simple life of dancing away his evenings with the girls of Aberdeen cast a depressing shadow over the man as he fights so hard to suppress these memories to survive.
The Forgotten Highlander is not a book for the faint-hearted yet it demands to read by all. Mr Urquhart never fired a shot, he never asked to be involved in the events in which he found himself and a warrior hero will not be found here. This is a story of an ordinary man who survived some of humanity's most atrocious acts of barbarity and destruction in a century littered with them.
That the man is still alive to again dance the evenings away is a miracle for him, but it is an opportunity for us. The reader will gain an insight in to what man is capable of both in terms of evil and what is required to survive it - for Alistair's war was not one of battles but of the conflict's most grim example of raw physical and emotional endurance. What this memoir offers is an unflinching account and it pulls no punches.
The Forgotten Highlander March 1, 2010
Mr. Ian G. Thomson (Scotland)
37 out of 37 found this review helpful
The most incredible story I have ever read. I am a former serviceman and can accept war can be hell, but Alistair's war experience went beyond imagination.
Captured by the Japanese at the surrender of Singapore, Alistair was put to work on the notorious Death railway, and the bridge over the River Kwai, in Burma. Surviving this, he was shipped to Japan, only to be torepoed by the Americans. After drifting for days he was recaptured and imprisoned at Nagasaki where he saw that city's annihilation but was unaware, that it was by the Atomic Bomb.
Alistair's letters home to his family are all typical of the ready prepared version to give the impression of a "holiday camp", where he was working for pay!
Alistair's determination is the reason he survived all the suffering, the hardship, the beatings, and the starvation to eventually write this incredible memoir.
The Forgotten Highlander March 1, 2010
Nicky Dorrian (Dundee Scotland)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
This is a fascinating book of a man's courage and determination. It is a book that should be read by everyone to keep alive the horrors experienced by people like Alistair during the second world war. The pace of the book never drops and I read it in one go. A fabulous read.
The very best, yet harrowing book I've ever read March 1, 2010
Craig Beharrie (Dundee Scotland)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
I was lucky enough to be given an early copy of this wonderful book. It is a must read for everyone of all ages. I am an avad reader of all types of books, but have never in my life enjoyed one as much as this. Often terrible and heartbreaking but what a story of survival! All credit must go to the author for surviving such hell and all credit to him for having the courage to allow the world to remember events that should never be forgotten. It should make us all proud to have had folk like him giving us the freedom we enjoy today and yet ashamed that we grumble about so little in life. 5 star perfection that I'm about to read again for the third time. I salute you sir.
Awe inspiring read March 1, 2010
Tina Halford-mcguff
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is an amazing story and one that should never be forgotten! I have made sure my children know all about Alistair's journey so they can appreciate the horrors of war and the determination of the human spirit. What an incredible man he is!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
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