As a former minister of the Baptist Kirk (church) in Westray, one of Orkney’s northern isles I looked forward with some relish to reviewing this history of the Orkney Kirks. I was not disappointed. Steering the Stone Ships is a comprehensive history of everything that constitutes a church in Orkney. From isolated hermitages to the splendid St Magnus Cathedral, ruined medieval churches to the richly decorated Italian chapel created in a Nissan hut, Jocelyn Rendall tells something of their story. As well as describing in great detail the multifaceted history of the Orkney Kirks in flowing easy to follow prose, Jocelyn Rendall’s work is also beautifully illustrated with a variety of line drawings and photographs in both colour and black and white. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Steering Stone Ships as an historical account of the Orkney church the thing that struck me most was that most of the Kirks described here remain standing to this day in one form or another. This makes this book as much an ecclesial tourist guide as it is an historical account. As such it is commendable both to the historian and the visitor who has an interest in the Orkney churches.