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Gloriously illustrated, and billed as a "celebration", there is nonetheless a lot to learn from this exploration of the materials used in Scotland's historic buildings. Each chapter, written by a specialist in the field, deals with a separate material, so we have timber, stone, brick, earth, clay, lime, plaster, paint, iron, lead, glass, pantiles, thatch and slate. They discuss the uses to which the materials have been put, and the development of that use chronologically and regionally, and examine processes of manufacture and/or extraction and sourcing. As the title suggests the book also treats the reader to photographs and discussion of an array of really stunning architecture, from Skara Brae to the brand new timber roof beams at Maggie's Centre in Dundee.