Down by the River

by James C. Scott

Bruce Reid - ex Royal Marine Commando officer - returns to his native Dundee after an absence of over two years. The distressing news that was the catalyst for his journey back to his home city was unexpected, and the events and emotions it releases effect a great change in his life. He always believed that he had left his past behind him when he joined the marines eighteen-years ago, but now he has to confront the stark reality of entering an environment again he so eagerly escaped from as a teenager.
Bruce can see how the city has changed - not necessarily in parts for the good - but it is, like him, on a journey of regeneration and growth, which will hopefully bring peace and fulfilment.
We find Bruce standing at the top of the hill known as the Law surveying the city of Dundee below, and in particular the seaside suburb of Broughty Ferry, a place where his loving grandparents still live, and the place where he is most at ease with the world.
But as he turns to leave, Bruce catches sight of the housing estate to the north where he grew up, and is resigned and circumspect as to what may lie ahead.

354 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2014

About the author

James C. Scott was an American political scientist and anthropologist specializing in comparative politics. He was a comparative scholar of agrarian and non-state societies, subaltern politics, and anarchism.