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Ronald Mackay

Goodreads Author

Born

Coupar Angus, Scotland

Genre

Memoir, Travel

Member Since

May 2014

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Ronald Mackay caught the travel bug early when he biked all over Scotland as a schoolboy. Within a couple of decades he'd lived and worked in the Kingdom of Morocco, Franco's Spain, Ceaușescu 's Romania, Zhivkov's Bulgaria, Echeverría's Spain and Trudeau's Canada -- and that was only the start.

After a lifetime of working internationally, he and his Peruvian wife spend most of their time at their home near Peterborough, on the Shores of Rice Lake in Ontario. ...more

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Ronald Mackay’s books

Average rating: 4.66 · 189 ratings · 84 reviews · 15 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Kilt Behind the Curtain: A Scotsman in Ceausescu’s Romania 4.60 avg rating — 75 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fortunate Isle: A Memoir of Tenerife 4.78 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2017 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Windows On My Worlds: A Collection of Short Stories 4.75 avg rating — 20 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	English for Specific Purposes: A Case Study Approach 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Tenerife con Cariño 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Languages for Specific Purposes: Program Design and Evaluation liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Native student dropouts in Ontario schools (Student retention and transition series) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reading in a Second Language: Hypotheses, Organization and Practice 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1979	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	ISNAR's (International Sevice for National Agricultural Research) achievements, impacts, and constraints: An assessment of organizational performance and institutional impact 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mystery of the Banshee Towers 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ronald Mackay…

Ronald is Currently Reading

Ronald Mackay is currently reading

Sartor Resartus [Annotated]

by Thomas Carlyle

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May 04, 2026 12:31PM

Ronald Mackay is currently reading

Back of Beyond

by Frances Brand (Goodreads Author)

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Mar 23, 2026 12:37AM

Ronald Mackay is currently reading

Para Handy: The Complete Collected Stories

by Neil Munro

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Feb 12, 2026 02:43AM

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Ronald’s Recent Updates

Ronald Mackay and 2 other people liked Shane's review of The Cellist (Gabriel Allon, #21): "I tried to read this “airport bookshop buy type” novel and had to regretfully abandon it. Being #21 in the Gabriel Allon, master Israeli superspy, series, I had to endure a lot of back-story that was dropped in indiscriminate data dumps, without being" Read more of this review »
Jul 15, 2026 10:27PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Cellist by Daniel Silva. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Cellist by Daniel Silva <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay and 3 other people liked Shane's review of The Priestly Sins: "An autobiographical novel, written by a Catholic priest about sexual abuse in the Church – how juicy is that! What surprised me more was that Andrew Greely, a practicing priest until his tragic accident and death, was able to deal so explicitly with " Read more of this review »
Jul 06, 2026 09:22PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Priestly Sins by Andrew M. Greeley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Priestly Sins by Andrew M. Greeley <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay rated a book it was amazing Walking Wounded by William McIlvanney	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 25, 2026 11:54AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Walking Wounded by William McIlvanney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Walking Wounded by William McIlvanney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay and 2 other people liked Shane's review of I Want It Now: "My first Kingsley Amis novel since reading Lucky Jim 50 years ago (and enjoying it at the time), and I was rather disappointed that this novel was not as funny and was more a commentary on the very dull lives of the rich and boring (and drunk). Ronni" Read more of this review »
Jun 20, 2026 10:51PM · see review
Ronald Mackay rated a book it was amazing I Flew into Trouble: Story of a WWII Navigator by Patricia Calder	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Pat Calder’s uncle volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force towards the beginning of WWII. Jack Calder was 25 with a secure job as a journalist in Toronto. His niece, Pat, wrote this gripping and hugely suspenseful story when, a generation or mor ...more
Jun 09, 2026 11:30PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Flew into Trouble by Patricia Calder. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Flew into Trouble by Patricia Calder <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay and 1 other person liked Shane's review of Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder: "A rare glimpse into the personal life of Salman Rushdie, the trickster normally given to bombastic erudition and flights of fantasy, in the wake of his encounter with the fulfilment of the Fatwa placed on him 33 years ago following the publication of" Read more of this review »
Jun 09, 2026 08:34PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Knife by Salman Rushdie. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Knife by Salman Rushdie <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay is currently reading I Flew into Trouble: Story of a WWII Navigator by Patricia Calder	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2026 11:51AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Flew into Trouble by Patricia Calder. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Flew into Trouble by Patricia Calder <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay rated a book it was amazing Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine: A Recipe for Life in the French Countryside (Life at Les Libellules Book 2) by Lindy Viandier (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
‘Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine’ is the deliciously evocative title of Linday Viandier’s second book about Life at Les Libellulles a 300-year old house on top of a hill in Burgundy. This alliterative title gives a foretaste of charming stories by a gif ...more
May 25, 2026 07:18AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine by Lindy Viandier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine by Lindy Viandier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronald Mackay made a comment on Wendy L. Scott-Hawkins’s review of Fortunate Isle: A Memoir of Tenerife " Many thanks for the complimentary review, Wendy L. Scott-Hawkins! "
May 22, 2026 10:50PM · see review
Ronald Mackay is currently reading Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine: A Recipe for Life in the French Countryside (Life at Les Libellules Book 2) by Lindy Viandier (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 15, 2026 12:19PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine by Lindy Viandier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mellow Mists and Walnut Wine by Lindy Viandier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">