The main theme of this unusual history of an unusual locality is the vigour, stubbornness and fortitude with which its inhabitants have met the challenges that have determined its founding, fortunes and - sometimes - its very existence.

Wick of The North tells of this curious community's origins in Viking (so far as they can be known), the alarms and excursions that afflicted it during the feuding days of the earls of Caithness and Sutherland, the town's improbable 'erection' into a 'Royal Burgh' in 1589, its phenomenal rise in the nineteenth century to become 'the herring capital of Europe', its not inconsiderable role in both World Wars of this century, and its extraordinary efforts to survive when the herring went.

The author explores in depth the astonishing variety and volume of the historical records available, retailing many of the stories that have, from time to time, served to glut the insatiable appetite of Wickers for good yarns and legends. He debunks with some relish a few of the entertaining myths about themselves that Wick folk have cherished.

Among episodes recalled by Dr Foden are the 'Great Storm', the 'riots' of 1847, when the military sailed in from Aberdeen to keep the people in order, the 'War of the Orange', and the ultimate though long delayed union of the ancient royal burgh with the upstart new town of Pulteney. He casts light on the traditional rivalry between Wick and Thurso, still alive.

Wick of The North is a good, long read.