Something Scottish
Learn the history and legends behind the places and faces of Scotland's capital city.
A short and beautifully illustrated overview of Scotland. Includes sections on the country's history, geography and culture.
"Arthur Herman has charted a fascinating journey across the centuries of Scottish history. He lucidly summarizes the ideas, discoveries, and achievements that made this small country facing on the North Atlantic an inspiration and driving force in world history. Here is the untold story of how John Knox and the Church of Scotland laid the foundation for our modern idea of democracy; how the Scottish Enlightenment helped to inspire both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution; and how thousands of Scottish immigrants left their homes to create the American frontier, the Australian outback, and the British Empire in India and Hong Kong." From the publisher's description
In this friendly, lively book, the authors guide readers to more than 200 ancient monuments to uncover unsual features, legends and history. A descriptive timeline differentiates various eras from the Stone Age to the Renaissance. An index of sites facilitates finding them quickly. A glossary defines common historical, archaeological and Scottish terminology, and references suggest further reading. Sixteen color pages and numerous B&W photos supplement the text. From the publisher's description
"This overview of Celtic spirituality goes far beyond New Age considerations and even beyond the usual look at Irish saints. Instead Newell, former Warden of Scotland's Iona Community, explains Celtic spirituality itself -- its theology, its history, how it was overshadowed by the Roman sense of church, and how it has resurfaced as a deep, rich, vibrant way of life."
Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another... In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach, an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743. Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
"Guy draws on sources as varied as the secret communiqués of English spies and Mary"s own letters (many hitherto unstudied) to depict her world and her actions with stunning immediacy. Here is a myth-shattering reappraisal of her multifaceted character and prodigious political skill. Guy dispels the persistent popular image of Mary as a romantic leading lady, achieving her ends through feminine wiles, driven by love to murder, undone by passion and poor judgment.
"Through his pioneering research, we come to see her as an emotionally intricate woman and an adroit diplomat, maneuvering ingeniously among a dizzying array of powerful factions — the French, the English, duplicitous Scottish nobles, and religious zealots — who sought to control or dethrone her. Guy"s investigation of Mary"s storied demise throws sharp new light on questions that have baffled historians for centuries, including whether or not Mary was framed for the murder she lost her throne over."
(From the publisher's description)
When medieval Scotland had been reduced to an English vassal state by Edward I, it was Robert the Bruce who united the Scots in rebellion and won Scotland's independence.
"Contributors range from Tacitus, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Oliver Cromwell to Adam Smith, David Livingstone, and Billy Connolly. These include not only historic moments--from Bannockburn to the opening of the new parliament in 1999--but also testimonies like that of the eight-year- old factory worker who was dangled by his ear out of a third-floor window for making a mistake; the survivors of the 1746 Battle of Culloden, who wished perhaps that they had died on the field; the breakthrough moment for John Logie Baird, inventor of television; and, the genesis of great works of literature recorded by Conan Doyle, Stevenson, and the editor of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
"From the battlefield to the sports field, this is living, accessible history told by crofters, criminals, servants, housewives, poets, journalists, nurses, politicians, prisoners, comedians, sportsmen, and many more."
(From the publisher's description)
"Offering the most up-to-date and comprehensive history of Scotland available, the author explains the roots of the original Scots, he examines how Scotland was shaped by the Roman, the Vikings, and the English, and presents colorful stories of battles, political intrigues, and presents a rich pageant of historical characters."
This work advocates a broader, more searching approach to family history than mere genealogy. Based on the author's experience as a local history librarian in the East Lothian district of Scotland, he examines the Scottish family in relation to the great movements of local history, while providing instruction on the sources and techniques needed for successful family history research.
Trades, professions, religions, clans and surnames, migration and emigration, labor and industry, kin and community--all are dealt with in the intimate context of family history. So, too, are the conventional sources of genealogical data such as church records, memoirs, and government records. A manual for the researcher into family history, this is also a history of the family as it has developed in Scotland from the time of the clans to the present day. (From the publisher's description)
"The Outer Hebrides of Scotland epitomize the evocative beauty and remoteness of island life. The most dramatic of all the Hebrides is Harris, a tiny island formed from the oldest rocks on earth, a breathtaking landscape of soaring mountains, wild lunarlike moors, and vast Caribbean-hued beaches. This is where local crofters weave the legendary Harris Tweed-a hardy cloth reflecting the strength, durability, and integrity of the life there.
"In Seasons on Harris, David Yeadon, 'one of our best travel writers' (The Bloomsbury Review), captures, through elegant words and line drawings, life on Harris--the people, their folkways and humor, and their centuries-old Norse and Celtic traditions of crofting and fishing. Here Gaelic is still spoken in its purest form, music and poetry ceilidh evenings flourish in the local pubs, and Sabbath Sundays are observed with Calvinistic strictness. Yeadon's book makes us care deeply about these proud islanders, their folklore, their history, their challenges, and the imperiled future of their traditional island life and beloved tweed."
"The history of Scotland is a long and rich one, and the story of tartan is inextricably woven into it, but tartan is also very much part of the modern world, both as a continuing tradition and as a declaration of affiliation, by Scots all around the globe. In this book is an unprecedented collection of tartans, ancient and modern, traditional and obscure, mainstream and idiosyncratic, from the major clans who have dominated Scotland's destiny, to today's individuals and societies who use tartan to declare an allegiance."
The flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie was one of history's greatest manhunts. It created Scotland's most treasured legend during 1746, when Charles Edward, heir to the Stuart throne, was ruthlessly hunted down after the Battle of Culloden.
"This book's abundant archival photographs and illustrations and Adolph's engaging text describe Scottish society in detail, from the early seanachaidh (druids) and chieftains to Viking genetics. Adolph explains how critical historical events affected how and where Scottish people lived, and he gives comprehensive detail on such important topics as naming patterns, clans and tartans, heraldry, parishes, landholders and tacksmen, the Burghs, sasines, farmers and crofters, and Highland and Lowland families."
Sir William Wallace of Ellerslie is one of history's greatest heroes, but also one of its greatest enigmas—a shadowy figure whose edges have been blurred by myth and legend. James MacKay uses all his skills as a historical detective to produce this definitive biography, telling the incredible story of a man who, without wealth or noble birth, rose to become Guardian of Scotland. William Wallace, with superb generalship and tactical genius, led a country with no previous warlike tradition to triumph gloriously over the much larger, better-armed, and better-trained English forces. 700 years later, the heroism and betrayal, the valiant deeds and the dark atrocities, and the struggle of a small nation against a brutal and powerful empire, still create a compelling tale.
(From the publisher's description)
