In
1989 Wafaida published the Handbook of
the Scottish Hills, in which Dr Eric Yeaman listed 2,435 Scottish hills
that met his set critera: ‘for the
purposes of this Handbook, a hill is
defined as an eminence which has an ascent of 100 m all round or, failing that,
is at least 5 km (walking distance) from any higher point’.
Yeaman’s
100-metre criterion was revolutionary in that it dispensed with the standard
two-pronged approach of minimum height and minimum drop which had previously
been used to differentiate hills. It was
the first publication that used relative height only, with no minimum absolute
height.
Over
subsequent years an update sheet listed an additional 66 hills, 11 deletions
and 6 substitutions, one of which was later reversed, with the final total of
hills that have become known as Yeamans
being 2,490.
Ups and Downs – The Story of Handbook of the
Scottish Hills is a complimentary volume to the book that was
published thirty-one years ago. It is
not another hill list: it details the
conception, compilation, publishing and marketing of the Handbook, along with the subsequent hill-related correspondence. Thus, in addition to being an insight into
the Handbook, it provides an
interesting practical guide for anyone contemplating self-publishing.
Ups and Downs – The Story of Handbook of the
Scottish Hills is available from Mapping Mountains Publications,
and also, as an e-book from Smashwords.
Download the e-booklet version for use on a
PC, laptop, or e-reader.
The booklet can be downloaded by clicking on the link
below:
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