THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Originally published in 1957, this book gives a comprehensive account of the scope and variety of the work previously performed by Scottish Government departments in Whitehall during the second half of the 20th Century. The then Secretary of State for Scotland’s role was unusually diverse – he or she was the equivalent to a number of English ministers. The book examines this complex role and then analyses the work and organisation of 4 main departments: Agriculture, Education, Health and Home. The approach is a broad one, with an explanation given of how and why Scottish arrangements and practices differ from those south of the border.

Originally published in 1968, and at a time when discontent with Westminster was growing along with the desire for an independent Scottish government, this book gives historical background but also discusses 20th Century political, administrative, legal and economic matters. Scottish law and taxation are discussed, as is education, industry, transport, migration and unemployment as part of the discussion to understand the growing movement of Scottish Nationalism.

Originally published in 1972 and ahead of its time in many respects this book was the first to take a constructive approach to the problems facing the human race in the 20th Century. It remains enduringly relevant today and discusses over-population, under-employment, atmospheric pollution, exhaustion of global resources and geo-politics. It shows how all these issues are inter-connected and therefore how conventional attempts to solve some of them merely exacerbate others. It asserts that the solution rests in the evolution of a realistic form of politics which puts the community first.

This collection of books encompasses Scottish identity and cultural heritage, historical geography, health and social issues, industrial, economic, religious and political history. Originally published between 1935 and 1990, many of these titles were written at the height of discussions concerning the viability of an independent Scotland, an issue that has renewed relevance today. They include some of the notable volumes from the Routledge The Voice of Scotland series, as well as other books by leading authors. The empirical content of many of the books reissued here ensures they retain their relevance in informing studies of trends since the time they were first completed and will be of interest to anyone concerned with the ongoing debate about Scotland’s role within the UK and Europe and the shape of her political future.

Originally published in 1936 and authored by an ardent Scottish Nationalist and convert to Roman Catholicism, this concise book begins in the Gaelic era and charts the turbulent history of Catholicism in Scotland from then to the early 20th Century through the Norman Conquest of England and the coming of Saint Margaret. The contribution of the unbroken line of Stuart Kings to the national consciousness is emphasized and an outspoken account of the origins of John Knox’s Presbyterian movement given. The book also discusses the persecution of Catholic missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Originally published in 1935 and authored by a supporter of Scottish Nationalism, this book ascribes many of Scotland’s misfortunes in history to the sectarian wars and those of Edward I, as well as the havoc wrought by the Industrial Revolution and the decay of Scotland’s successive cultures. Reduced to political impotence by the early 20th Century and severed from that contact with Europe which fostered its early culture, the author feels its national life dwindled. Many of the themes surrounding Scottish identity and independence are once again part of today’s political debate.

Originally published in 1935, this book’s author was both a nationalist and internationalist who believed that these positions were complementary, not in conflict with each other. This concise volume doesn’t merely discuss the significance of literature in Scottish history but also charts that literary heritage. Examining native and foreign influences from Ireland and Scandinavia, the book also examines the role literature has played in the formation of the national identity of Scotland.

Originally published in 1982, written at a time when Scotland was emerging from a recession, it offered a comprehensive appraisal of the Scottish economy. The book shows that long-term regional problems had not gone away and that the presence of North Sea oil was not a guarantee of future economic health in Scotland. A major theme of the work is the key role of government expenditure in the (then) recent restructuring of the Scottish economy. Many of the issues discussed remain pertinent today, as Scotland once again discusses the future shape of its economy and political identity.

Originally published in 1973, the emphasis of this study is on the Scottish settlers during the first quarter of the 17th Century. It shows that the ‘Plantation’, although a milestone in Ireland’s past is also of considerable importance in Scotland’s history. The society that produced Scottish settlers is examined and the reasons why they left their homeland analysed. The book explains what effect the Scottish migration had upon both Ireland and Scotland and assesses the extent to which James I was personally involved in the promotion of the ‘Plantation’ scheme.

Originally published in 1988, this biography was the result of 15 years research, including unearthing 70,000 letters and documents among the Stuart Papers which had hitherto lain largely untapped. Written in many different languages, some were damaged, written in code, or unsigned and undated. Deciphering them therefore made it possible to gain a new level of insight into Bonnie Prince Charlie as a man, his relationship with his exiled father, the role played by France and the true nature of the events leading up to the bloody campaign of 1745 in which he attempted to win back the throne of his ancestors.

Originally published in 1991 and focussing on the countryside, this book examines patterns of settlement and agriculture in Scotland and considers how these were increasingly altered during the 17th and 18th Centuries by the first Improvers and then by the more widespread impact of the Agricultural Revolution. It considers the effect on the landscape of the changing role of the church, the development of improved communications and the rise of new industries. The book analyses in detail the ways in which the landscape changed in Scotland’s transition from a medieval, impoverished country and an undeveloped economy to a modern society and one of the most highly urbanised countries in Europe.

In this chillingly resonant dystopian adventure, two versions of America are locked in conflict. Invisible Sun concludes Charles Stross’s Empire Games trilogy.Two twinned worlds are facing attackThe American Commonwealth is caught in a deadly arms race with the USA, its parallel-world rival. And the USA’s technology is decades ahead. Yet the Commonweath might self-combust first – for its leader has just died, leaving a crippling power vacuum. Minister Miriam Burgeson must face allegations of treason without his support, in a power-grab by her oldest adversary.However, all factions soon confront a far greater danger . . . In their drive to explore other timelines, hi-tech USA awakened an alien threat. This force destroyed humanity on one version of earth. And if the two superpowers don’t take action, it will do the same to them.Invisible Sun follows Empire Games and Dark State. This trilogy is set in the same dangerous parallel world as Charles Stross’s Merchant Princes sequence.

The second book in Charles Cumming’s gripping new thriller series surrounding BOX 88 – a covert intelligence organization that operates beneath the radar.A young spy in one of the most dangerous places on Earth…1993: Student Lachlan Kite is sent to post-Soviet Russia in the guise of a language teacher. In reality, he is there as a spy. Top secret intelligence agency BOX 88 has ordered Kite to extract a chemical weapons scientist before his groundbreaking research falls into the wrong hands. But Kite’s mission soon goes wrong and he is left stranded in a hostile city with a former KGB officer on his trail.An old enemy looking for revenge…2020: Now the director of BOX 88 operations in the UK, Kite discovers he has been placed on the ‘JUDAS’ list – a record of enemies of Russia who have been targeted for assassination. Kite’s fight for survival takes him to Dubai, where he must confront the Russian secret state head on…Who will come out on top in this deadly game of cat and mouse?

Originally published in 1987, this volume filled a notable gap in Scottish urban history and considers the place of Scottish towns in urban life during the 16th and 17th Centuries. The first part of the book is based on studies of individual burghs (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Perth) drawing extensively on archival material. The second part includes a discussion of the pressure put upon the burghs by the town between 1500 and 1650, a process which contributed to the destruction of the medieval burgh and examines the burgh during the Scottish Revolution. The impact of war and plague on Scottish towns in the 1640s is also analysed and much emphasis is given to the relationship between town and country.

Originally published in 1980, this book examines the evolution of the Scottish landscape from pre-historic times to the mid-nineteenth century. It considers the way in which the structural base of agriculture and the changing farming ‘system’ came to alter the Scottish rural landscape. This book, with its focus on the underlying landscape processes, gives a developmental view of landscape change. It therefore considers the crucial question of the rate and pace of landscape change and argues that the Scottish landscape was not the product of a few brief phases of quite rapid development but rather the result of a continual and gradual process of change. It also looks at the regional variation of landscape change and establishes the importance of regional linkages in the diffusion of ideas especially in new technology.

The links between Ireland and the Presidents of the United States of America go a lot further and deeper than JFK. From President Andrew Jackson in 1829 to President Joe Biden in 2021, Ireland has had a hugely significant influence in the White House. Some of that influence has been direct, some more oblique, but the story of this continuing bond between these two nations is both fascinating and entertaining. THE GREEN & WHITE HOUSE takes an affectionate and wry look at the special relationship this tiny nation of less than six million people has with the greatest superpower in the world.The diplomatic bromance between the US and Ireland has seen a steady stream of American commanders-in-chief touching down in military helicopters in remote Irish villages over the last century. Their long-lost relatives crossed the Atlantic by boat but their Presidential descendants returned in Air Force One and armoured limousines flanked by secret servicemen. And these visits have produced a wealth of brilliant stories, like the high-tech phones installed in a cemetery, the Aran jumper knitted for President Reagan which was treated like a hostile device, and the FBI anti-personnel nets in the Mayo river that failed to catch any would-be assassins but produced a bumper catch of salmon for the locals. Then there’s the US secret serviceman who mislaid his machine gun and found it being passed around an excited crowd, and Henry Kissinger’s high-level Vietnam peace talks in a Limerick dairy farm.Each Presidential visit has had the world’s media in a frenzy and turned local people into media darlings. The homecomings of the prodigal Presidents are all conducted with a twinkle in the eyes of both parties. And this cross-Atlantic courtship, forged over family trees, has helped secure Ireland the status as the only country in the world with a standing annual invitation to the White House – something no other nation on Earth can rival.

Set in a brutal, chaotic Scotland of the near future, it’s business at any cost for the people who live there. Archie Henderson, a passionate hunter, has rewilded his vast Highland estate filling the mountains and woods with wolves and bears. Here he runs wolf hunts with a terrible difference.But when a young man is killed by a bear on the reserve, Detective Inspector Rhona Ballantyne investigates. The death is not all it seems. She uncovers a terrifying truth that will put her own life in jeopardy.A new writer to this genre, Amanda Mitchison has hit the ground running with a new spin to Tartan Noir.

In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy.Are you made fainthearted by death? Does fire unnerve you? Is a villain something that might crop up in future nightmares of yours? Are you thrilled by nefarious plots? Is cold porridge upsetting to you? Vicious threats? Hooks? Uncomfortable clothing?It is likely that your answers will reveal A Series of Unfortunate Events to be ill-suited for your personal use. A librarian, bookseller, or acquaintance should be able to suggest books more appropriate for your fragile temperament. But to the rarest of readers we say, “Proceed, but cautiously.”

The eleventh book in the Sunday Times-bestselling Inspector McLean series, from one of Scotland’s most celebrated crime writers.The charred remains of an elderly woman are discovered in a burned-out game-keepers cottage, hidden away in woodland to the west of Edinburgh. Clearly no accidental fire, Detective Inspector Tony McLean suspects that neither is this simply a grim arson attack. There is far more to the victim than her humble surroundings might suggest, and something ritualistic to her horrific murder.Nor will it be the only case of death by fire that Tony and his team will be faced with. This is only the beginning, and with such evil clouding the air, Tony begins to wonder what else will burn . . .Praise for James Oswald:’The new Ian Rankin’ Daily Record’Creepy, gritty and gruesome’ Sunday Mirror’Crime fiction’s next big thing’ Sunday Telegraph

The Great Hunger in nineteenth-century Ireland was a major human tragedy of modern times. Almost a million perished and a further two million emigrated in the wake of potato blight and economic collapse. Acute famine also gripped the Scottish Highlands at the same time, causing misery, hardship and distress. The story of that lesser known human disaster is told in this prize-winning and internationally acclaimed book.The author describes the classic themes of highland and Scottish history, including the clearances, landlordism, crofting life, emigration and migration in a subtle and intricate reconstruction based on a wide range of sources. This book should appeal to all those with an interest in Scottish history, the emigration of Scottish people and the Highland Clearances.