Single Volume Histories
Books on individual events, people or periods can be found in the
appropriate page on the Timeline.
September 2006 Recommended Reading
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| This classic account of the events which shaped the
modern Highlands was written by a man who has gone on
to become a leading figure in the public life of that
region. Now, James Hunter, as well as revising his original
text, has prefaced his first book (a book which helped
make land reform a major issue) with an extensive explanation
of why it was, and is, necessary to challenge standard
academic interpretations of the Highland past. For twenty-five
years, The Making of the Crofting Community has
been attracting praise and provoking outrage in almost
equal measure. Its author has always been identified with
the people whose lives were shattered by the landlords
responsible for the Highland Clearances. His book's new
and hard-hitting preface will fuel renewed debate about
those tragic - and still contentious - happenings.
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| Author |
Title |
Published |
Price |
Order
Now |
| Ascherson, Neil |
Stone Voices: The Search
For Scotland |
2002 |
£16.99 |
Buy
this book |
| Neal Ascherson is one of Britain's finest writers in
an undefinable genre that fuses history, memoir, politics
and meditations on places. His books on Poland and his
collected essays on the strange Britain to which he returned
from Europe in the mid 1980s were deeply influential.
In 1995, Black Sea won critical praise in many languages
and several literary prizes. Stone Voices is Ascherson's
return to his native Scotland. It is an exploration of
Scottish identity, but this is no journalistic rumination
on the future of that small nation. Ascherson instead
weaves together a story of deep time - the time of geology
and archaeology, of myth and legend - with the story of
modern Scotland and its rebirth. Few writers in these
islands have his ability to write so well about the natural
context of history.
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| Devine, T. M. |
The Scottish
Nation 1700 - 2000 |
2000 |
£9.99 |
Buy
this book |
| A paperback edition of one of the best-received books
to be published about Scottish history for many years,
written by one our most prestigious historians. A look
at the factors which have shaped and defined modern Scotland. |
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| Donaldson, G. |
Scotland: the Shaping of
a Nation |
1993 |
£8.95 |
Buy
this book |
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| Fisher, Andrew |
A Traveller's History of
Scotland |
2002 |
£8.99 |
Buy this book |
| Scotland and all things Scottish,
have recently experienced a revival of interest resulting
in many more visitors to its ancient cities and beautiful
wild countryside. In this text, the broad sweep of Scotland's
story, both past and present, is chronicled by one of
the country's best historians. Andrew Fisher begins when
Scotland was a land of romantic kingdoms and saints, gradually
overtaken by more pragmatic struggles for power. Centuries
of bloody strife lead up to the turbulent years of Mary
Queen of Scots, the Calvinistic legacy of John Knox, and
the bitterness of the final defeat. The dreams of the
Jacobites are contrasted with the cruel reality of the
end of the Stewarts and the Act of Union with England.
The final chapter is Devolution, the setting up of the
first Scottish parliament since 1707 and the symbolic
return of the Stone of Destiny marking a new era for Scotland.
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| Fraser, E. |
Illustrated History of Scotland |
1997 |
£12.99 |
Buy
this book |
| A concise and heavily illustrated history from the time
of the Romans to the present day. A useful first introduction
for those interested in learning something of the complicated
history of the country. |
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| Halliday, J. |
Scotland: A Concise History |
1996 |
£6.95 |
Buy
this book |
| A valiant attempt to pack into 150 pages the essence
of Scottish history and the events which have shaped the
nation. |
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| Harris, Nick |
Heritage of Scotland |
2000 |
£18.99 |
Buy
this book |
| A cultural history of Scotland from the ancient Celts
to the present day in an accessible style and illustrated
with 150 colour photos. The major events and figures in
Scottish history are explored here, together with an account
of the culture and traditions of the Scottish people.
Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of day-to-day
life from agriculture to art. |
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| Harvie, Christopher |
Scotland |
2002 |
£8.99 |
Buy
this book |
| In this history of Scotland,
Christopher Harvie discusses land, people and culture.
Harvie's six chapters cover the shaping of the kingdom,
medieval Scotland, reformation and dual monarchy, union
and enlightenment, industrialization, and the troubled
but ultimately triumphant 20th century. Harvie deals with
old cliches, applies the results of research, analyzes
Scotland's disproportionate role in European nationalism,
technocracy, empire and regionalism, and shows how Hugh
MacDiarmid's "winds wi warlds to swing" affected
the outlook and environment of the Scots, from hill-fort
and peel tower to multi-storey flat and oil rig. |
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| R.J. Houston (Editor),
W.W.J. Knox (Editor) |
The New Penguin History
of Scotland
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2002 |
£16.99 |
Buy this book |
| Drawing on research from a wide range of disciplines
as well as history - archaeology, social sciences, economics,
science, religion and literature - this is a comprehensive
history of Scotland's peopled past from the scarcely documented
Neolithic period to the parliament of 2000. Each chapter
goes beyond the stories of kings, bishops and battles,
bringing to life the history of the material environment,
family and community and the mass of the Scottish people.
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| Hunter, James |
Last of the Free; A Millenial
History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland |
2000 |
£9.99 |
Buy
this book |
This is an account of how the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland evolved into the way they are. James Hunter's
central contention is that the Highlands and Islands were
most successful when the region possessed a large measure
of autonomy.
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| Lynch, Michael |
Scotland: a New History |
1992 |
£10.00 |
Buy
this book |
25 chapters split into 5 parts:
I. Early Scotland
II. Medieval Scotland
III. The Long 16th Century
IV.The Crisis of the Three Kingdoms
V.The Moulding of Modern Scotland.
One of the best single volume histories of Scotland ever
produced, and although not yet updated with the 1990s
political events and with only a few b&w illustrations,
it remains essential reading for anyone interested in
Scottish history. |
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| Mackie, J. D. |
History of Scotland |
1991 |
£7.99 |
Buy
this book |
A one-volume history of the Scottish nation.
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| MacLean, Fitzroy |
Scotland: A Concise History |
2000 |
£8.95 |
Buy
this book |
| A new edition of an excellent illustrated history by
one of our finest soldier-diplomats, with an extra chapter
by Magnus Linklater to cover the events since MacLean's
death. |
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| Magnusson, Magnus |
Scotland: The Story of a
Nation |
2000 |
£19.99 |
Buy
this book |
| A vivid look at Scotland's long and difficult road to
nationhood, re-exploring some cherished myths and unearthing
a wealth of fascinating new detail. Magnus Magnusson's
starting-point is Sir Walter Scott's classic version of
Scotland's history. |
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| Menzies, Gordon (ed.) |
In Search of Scotland |
2001 |
£12.99 |
Buy
this book |
In Search of Scotland is the companion book to the lively
and challenging BBC Scotland television series. Edited
by Gordon Menzies, the Producer of the television series,
this book tells the story of ten thousand years of Scotland's
history.
History is where we come from, history is who we are.
From the Stone Age to the present, the book charts the
impact of the Celts, Picts, Romans, Irish, Vikings and
English, of battles, wars and empire. The great and the
good figure prominently, of course, but the story of Scotland
is also about ordinary people who lived and loved, worked
and died, most of them leaving no record at all. No matter
where our ancestors come from, we are all affected by
our past.
Scotland's leading historians have combined to produce
a work that is revealing and authoritative. Lavishly illustrated
throughout, its trechant views and evocative descriptions
will entrance everyone who cares about Scotland and the
Scots.
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| Mitchison, Rosalind |
A History of Scotland |
2002 |
£14.70 |
Buy
this book |
| Covering the period from the Pictish peoples and their
symbol stones to modern devolution, Mitchison's narrative
remains a comprehensiive introduction to Scottish history.
The text covers the key social and political aspects of
the growth of this nation, and comprises cultural systems
of thought such as early witchcraft beliefs and the Scottish
Enlightenment. "A History of Scotland" contains
famous people and events, including: the rebellions of
Robert the Bruce and William Wallis in the early 14th
century; the fall of the Black Douglases in 1455; the
Battle of Flodden in 1513; the rule of Mary Queen of Scots
and her execution in 1587; Bonnie Prince Charlie and the
second Jacobite Rebellion in 1745; and the literature
of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.
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| Prebble, John |
John Prebble's Scotland |
2000 |
£12.50 |
Buy
this book |
A journey through Scotland's landscape by the acclaimed
author of "Culloden" and "The Highland
Clearances". This is a voyage that spans the Borders,
the Highlands and the Isles, drawing upon a rich store
of social history, anecdote, folklore and literature.
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| Prebble, John |
Scotland |
1986 |
£12.99 |
Buy
this book |
| Though born in England and brought up in Canada, Prebble's
love and understanding of Scotland and its history has
been expressed through many excellent books. This is one
of the best. |
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| Ross, David |
Scotland: History of a Nation |
1999 |
£12.99 |
Buy
this book |
| |
| Scott, P. H. (ed.) |
Scotland: A Concise Cultural
History |
1993 |
£20.00 |
Buy
this book |
Duns Scotus, Henryson, Ireland, Dunbar, Carver, Lyndsay,
Buchanan, Napier, Fletcher, Hume, Smith, Ramsay, Hutton,
Adam, Watt, Raeburn, Telford, Burns, Hogg, Scott, Galt,
Carlyle, Simpson, Kelvin, Maxwell, MacTaggart, Stevenson,
Geddes, Mackintosh, Fleming, MacDiarmid, Grierson, Maclean.
These are only a few of the outstanding names in the cultural
history of Scotland. The record, as an American, Harold
Orel, said, is almost unbelievably rich: 'No nation of
its size has contributed so much to world culture.'
Perhaps because this cultural history is so rich and diverse,
and because it extends over so many centuries, few systematic
attempts have previously been made to study it as a whole.
It is certainly beyond the scope of any one writer. For
this reason, Scotland: A Concise Cultural History
is the work of many people, all leading authorities in
their own field.
It is a pioneering work, which is likely to transform
ideas about Scotland. It is both an introduction to the
astonishing record of Scottish achievement and a book
which opens up new and unexpected vistas to those familiar
with only a part of it. It should mark the start of a
new subject in its own right, Scotland as a great creative
force in European civilisation. |
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| Steel, Tom |
Scotland's Story |
1985 |
£8.99 |
Buy
this book |
| |
| Tranter, Nigel |
Story of Scotland |
1992 |
£7.99 |
Buy
this book |
Scotland's story cannot be told in terms merely of documentary
evidence, for this would be to neglect an integral part
of the nation's heritage. The legends, myths, stories
and memories handed down from generation to generation
must be added to the bare bones of factual record if the
character of the country is to be truly revealed. Nigel
Tranter combines the two with a masterly hand, expertly
weaving the colourful threads of folklore into the fabric
of historical fact.
Tranter is impeccably qualified to tell the story of Scotland,
having written many books detailing the nation's rich
past and he possesses an exceptional gift for storytelling.
His account begins in the years before records made traditional
history possible and ends with the transformation of Scotland
during the 19th century into a workshop of the world and
a source of pioneers for Britain's empire. |
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| Watson, Fiona |
Scotland: A History
8000 B.C. - A.D. 2000 |
2001 |
£11.99 |
Buy
this book |
| A lively history of Scotland from the presenter of the
new BBC In Search of Scotland TV series. |
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