Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish

 

Summary (from the publisher): From their faithful camper van to boats, kayaks, bicycles, and motorbikes, join stars of Outlander Sam and Graham on a road trip with a difference, as two Scotsmen explore a land of raw beauty, poetry, feuding, music, history, and warfare.

Unlikely friends Sam and Graham begin their journey in the heart of Scotland at Glencoe and travel from there all the way to Inverness and Culloden battlefield, where along the way they experience adventure and a cast of highland characters. In this story of friendship, finding themselves, and whisky, they discover the complexity, rich history and culture of their native country.

Review: Stars of the hit show Outlander and good friends Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish embark on a road trip throughout Scotland to explore the country and spend time together. Part memoir, part behind the scenes fan fiction, and part history, this book is an interesting combination that defies description. 

I'm not sure how interesting this book would be to anyone who wasn't read the Outlander books or watched the show. There is a lot of talk about the show and being on set. As a fan, I loved the behind-the-scenes insight into the filming process of one of my favorite shows. For instance, they discuss the long hours on set, the dynamics of the different actors, how poor the food was on set, and how long it takes to apply the scar makeup on his back. I found the behind the scenes and memoir sections of the book to be the most interesting. I liked learning more about both characters' backgrounds and careers and their friendship. The history sections were my least favorite. Although they added context to where they were on their road trip, they just didn't hold my interest and were too broad in stroke to really give me a good sense of Scottish history overall. If you really want a Scottish history, I think you'd pick up a more scholarly source. 

The best way to enjoy this book is with the audio version of the text. It is read by the authors and feels very performative as they go back and forth in a very conversational way. The text features a lot of bro type ribbing of one another, which was a bit much at times, but their lighthearted tone and back and forth banter comes across much better in the audio version than I think would be possible in text alone. Overall, this was a fun read that felt like a cool inside look into the lives of two of the stars of the show.                                                 

Stars: 3.5