Glasgow: A History

by Michael Meighan

Located on the banks of the River Clyde, Glasgow was once the second city of the Empire, producing ships, locomotives, cars and heavy engineering for the world. Its docks would see huge numbers of exports. But Glasgow is much more than this; it is a religious centre, with one of Scotland s earliest churches, a centre for the Virginia tobacco trade, a home of designers and architects, inventors and entrepreneurs, artists and industrialists. It is that variety of talent, and the melting pot of immigrants and other Scots, sucked into the city at its peak that saw the phenomenal growth in wealth and culture that has left the city with a legacy of fine Victorian architecture, and it is its decline that has seen a legacy of remote council estates. However, Glasgow has risen again, and is truly a vibrant city, thanks to its self-promotion from Dr Michael Kelly s Glasgow s Miles Better campaign to its use in gritty film and TV productions, as well as its ability to look at the past and preserve the best of the old, while producing some of the most startling modern architecture outside of London. Michael Meighan tells the story of Glasgow, from its drumlin days in the Ice Age to the growth of the Church, its industries, its people and the phenomenal expansion of the Victorian era and the legacy it has left us.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction, History

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2013

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good read as a primer on the history of the city. It does go through it at quite some speed, and so does read a bit more like a tourist guide.

I do enjoy how Meighan organises the book with focusses on quite a wide spectrum of histories, including food, education, sports, art and industry.

I was never not going to enjoy reading a book on Glasgow's history, to be fair.

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

If not for the extensive research and information sought by the author behind this book, I would be closer to 1 star. This writing read so amateurly - repeating itself, wording and segues. I did find some enjoyable fun facts, but really just bland dates and names alongside personal anecdotes, which given the name and cover is not something I'm looking for in a history book.