A true portrait, an elegant and accessible introduction to an extraordinary people – the Scottish Gaels of Cape Breton Island and Eastern Nova Scotia. A story of immigration, rural settlement, and the later dispersion to the industrial world, Highland Settler is more than an outsider’s view; by drawing on local songs and poetry that people composed and loved, Dr. Dunn evokes, as well, a Gaelic settlers’ self-portrait. The informed warmth of Dunn’s approach makes Highland Settler an excellent book to read in the discovery of Cape Breton Island.

By Charles Dunn