Scotland: A History from Earliest Times

by Alistair Moffat

Overview

Five hundred million years of Scottish history from the author of Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms: “Deserves a prominent place in the history canon” (Scots Magazine).
 
Covering the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, the acclaimed historian and author explores the history of the Scottish nation. Focusing on key moments such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Jacobite risings, Moffat also features other episodes in history that are perhaps less well documented.
 
From prehistoric timber halls to inventions and literature, Moffat’s epic explores the drama of battle, change, loss, and innovation interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk, the men and women who defined a nation.
 
“Moffat plunders the facts and fables to create a richly-detailed and comprehensive analysis of a nation’s past and references a huge number of sources.” —Scotland Magazine
 
“The great thing about Moffat’s account is that, for all its emphasis on uncertainty, it rattles along with complete narrative certainty, to the extent that great events consistently take even a historically literate reader unawares.” —Scottish Review of Books
 
“A very readable, well-researched and fluent account.” —Scotland on Sunday

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857908742
Publisher:	Birlinn, Limited
Publication date:	12/20/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	148,776
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. He is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books including The Reivers, The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier, Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms, The Faded Map, The Scots: A Genetic Journey and The Sea Kingdoms. 

Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Director of Programmes at Scottish Television and founder of the Borders Book Festival, he is also the author of a number of highly acclaimed books. From 2011 he was Rector of the University of St Andrews. He has written more than thirty books on Scottish history, and lives in the Scottish Borders.

Editorial Reviews

Moffat plunders the facts and fables to create a richly-detailed and comprehensive analysis of a nation's past and references a huge number of sources'

Scotland Magazine

With his instinctive flair and accessible style, Moffat gets right under the skin of the country'

Farming Scotland

[T]his is a very readable, well-researched and fluent account'

Scotland on Sunday

A very readable, well-researched and fluent account'

The Scotsman - Stuart Kelly

The great thing about Moffat's account is that, for all its emphasis on uncertainty, it rattles along with complete narrative certainty, to the extent that great events consistently take even a historically literate reader unawares'

Scottish Review of Books

For Alistair Moffat, history is rooted in the personal. Now ... he has produced what is undoubtedly his most ambitious work. Scotland: A History From Earliest Times encompasses 500 million years, from when the tectonic plates were shifting to form the land mass we recognize today to the referendum and its aftermath'

The Herald - Alan Taylor