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As mentioned in the ‘Places to visit’ links, Colin Mackie, Paul O’Cuin and SGHET have done research and produced the book ‘City of the Dead’ about the Southern Necropolis.  Available at all good bookstores and the Mitchell Library; a reasonably priced wee book which is bound to be a great read. 

You have probably heard of Carol Foreman before—she has written several books on Glasgow.  They are available in all good bookshops and probably at the Mitchell Library:-

Hidden Glasgow  -   Glasgow Street Names      -      Glasgow Curiosities                                                                   Lost Glasgow     -    Glasgow from the Air—75 years of aerial photography  

If you have browsed this site before, then you will know that Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show visited Glasgow.  Tom Cunningham has now written two books on the subject of  native Americans in Scotland.

The Diamond’s Ace: Scotland and the Native Americans                  Your Fathers the Ghosts: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in Scotland

Judith Bowers has had a book published, entitled ‘Stan Laurel and Other Stars of the Panopticon—The Story of the Britannia Music Hall’.  What a history that building has had! 

Another book to be found in shops and at the Mitchell is  ‘A Tale of Two Towns: A History of Medieval Glasgow’, by Neil Baxter.

Not a recent publication, but a great book, is Meg Henderson’s biographical story of growing up in Glasgow ‘Finding Peggy’,

A book everyone is talking about, in a similar vein, is Robert Douglas’s first book ‘The Night Song of the Last Tram’,   He has written two sequels,  very enjoyable, but the first is a must-read.

‘Glasgow East’, photographs of Glasgow’s East End, some never before published,   By Gordon Adams, in the Tempus Images of Scotland series.  Look out for the others, too!

‘Glasgow City Beautiful’ John McDermott photographs Glasgow in all her glory.  Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing said ’It is a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated book’ .  Available in bookshops and on DVD.

You might find these books in the museum shops at Burrell, Kelvingrove and, of course, the Transport Museum. Don’t forget the Tourist Information Centre in George Square—they stock lots of unusual goodies.

There are DVDs about Glasgow’s history, shipbuilding, subway and other methods of  transport.  Hope you find something you like!

‘The Glasgow Almanac—an A to Z of the City and it’s People’ By Stephen Terry, Excerpts from this book first featured as short articles in the Evening Times in the lead up to the Millennium. 

‘Glasgow 1955: Through the lens’  By Fiona Hayes with Peter Douglas,  In 1955, Glasgow camera clubs went out and photographed everyday aspects of the city.  These fantastic portals to Glasgow’s past were on display in the Peoples Palace and ran for a very long time, so popular was the subject. This book is a collection of 90 of those superb photographs.  Available at Glasgow Museums and all good bookshops. 

‘A Century of Glasgow’  By Bruce Durie,  This book was first published in 2000.  The paperback edition was published 2007.  Lots of black and white photographs showing the huge changes which have taken place in Glasgow—and some scenes which haven’t changed much at all.  Divided into different time frames from the start of the Century,  through both World Wars to the last chapter, entitled ‘The Next Century’.

‘Glasgow’  Photographed by Allan Wright and Text by Jack McLean,  This book is a treat to look through.  Allan Wright, one of the World’s leading landscape photographers has taken sumptuous pictures of our beautiful city and introduction by Jack McLean, award-winning journalist.  .

‘Tales from the Back Green’  by Bill Paterson,  The well-known and respected actor was raised in Dennistoun in the 1950s and his ’Tales’ were broadcast in a very popular programme on BBC Radio.  Now he has put these reminiscences into a book.  If you’re quick, you’ll get it at a discounted price in Waterstones!  Published  2008.

‘Second City’  by Chris Terry,  No, not the C.A.Oakley book, although that is to be recommended also—this is a book of photographs of Old Glasgow.  Some standards are included but there are many I cannot recall having seen before—and I have seen a lot!  They are all black and white, of course, and they cover 100 years from Victorian Glasgow  to the swinging sixties (1860 –1960).

‘The Theatre Royal‘ by Graeme Smith.  The story of the Theatre Royal in Glasgow.  Now an Opera House, it has seen many types of entertainment, from theatre to television to vaudeville.  This book tells its story and also the story of its predecessor in Dunlop Street.

‘Our Glasgow‘ by Piers Dudgeon.  Mr Dudgeon has researched Glasgow’s history through the voices of its people, past and present.  He takes examples from past social commentators and people who have lived through the vast changes of more recent times.

‘What’s for Ye won’t go by Ye‘  and ‘Chasin’ that Carrot‘ by Avril Saunders.  Two novels with their roots in Glasgow, following two generations of the MacGregor family, from the 1930s and the war years through to the 1960s in the first book and into more recent times in the second. 

‘Rescue His Business, the Clyde His Life‘ by George Parsonage.  George Parsonage is the Officer of the Glasgow Humane Society, as his father was before him.  This book tells the history of the Humane Society in Glasgow and  then covers the many years when his father, Ben, held the post.  He took part in hundreds of rescues and recoveries on the Clyde and elsewhere.  He rightly won many awards and merits for his service to the City.  This book is a fitting tribute by his son, who follows in his footsteps.