100. Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper by Peter Hill

In 1973, Peter Hill is a Scottish, hippy art student had two ambitions as a child:  to be a lighthouse keeper or a marine biologist.  He gets the chance to fulfill the first dream, and this book is the memoir of his six months spent in three lighthouses off the west coast of Scotland.  Hill writes beautiful descriptions of the places he visits and the characters he meets.  Some of the anecdotes he shares are hilarious.  There is a lot of in-depth description of the routine in keeping a lighthouse, which was mostly fascinating.  What really intrigued me was how the people in Scotland responded to Watergate and Vietnam, watching the news and commenting on Richard Milhouse Nixon and Kissinger.   As a high school student, I was truly bored with the news reports of both; so I was amazed at the response of these ordinary people in Scotland.  Another fun aspect of this book was the pop culture of the early 70's.  It was also one part where I lost interest as I am so unfamiliar with the British TV and music scene that Hill discusses so much.  Overall, it was a well-written, informative and fun book that I truly enjoyed, with some points off for profanity.
Rating:  4.75