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Scotland: A Short History
In this gripping narrative, one of Scotland's leading historians and political writers discusses the geography, people and culture of this fascinating land--from prehistoric times to the present day.
The only short history of Scotland available that deals with the most recent developments in the country, like the establishment of Scotland's first parliament in over 300 years in 1999, this work places events in their historical and cultural context, and reflects the remarkable revival in
Scottish culture and history writing since the 1960s. Topics covered include the shaping of the kingdom, medieval Scotland, reformation and dual monarchy, union and enlightenment, industrialization, and the troubled but ultimately triumphant twentieth century. Harvie also deals with long-standing
clichés about Scotland and analyzes Scotland's disproportionate role in European nationalism.
The only short history of Scotland available that deals with the most recent developments in the country, like the establishment of Scotland's first parliament in over 300 years in 1999, this work places events in their historical and cultural context, and reflects the remarkable revival in
Scottish culture and history writing since the 1960s. Topics covered include the shaping of the kingdom, medieval Scotland, reformation and dual monarchy, union and enlightenment, industrialization, and the troubled but ultimately triumphant twentieth century. Harvie also deals with long-standing
clichés about Scotland and analyzes Scotland's disproportionate role in European nationalism.
280 pages, paperback
First published October 17, 2002
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About the author
Christopher Harvie
61 books4 followersProfessor Christopher Harvie is a Scottish historian and author. He was Professor of British and Irish Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany and a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife from 2007 to 2011.
Harvie grew up in the Borders village of St. Boswells and was educated at Kelso High School and the Royal High School in Edinburgh. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated in 1966 with a First Class Honours M.A. in History. He received his PhD from Edinburgh in 1972 for a thesis on university liberalism and democracy, 1860-1886.
As a historian, Harvie was the Shaw-Macfie Lang Fellow and a tutor at Edinburgh University from 1966 to 1969. He joined the Open University in 1969 as a history lecturer, and from 1978 he was a senior lecturer in history.
His publications include Scotland and Nationalism (1977, revised 1994), Fool’s Gold: the Story of North Sea Oil (1994), Broonland: the Last Days of Gordon Brown (2010), and Scotland the Brief: a Short History of a Nation (2010).
Harvie grew up in the Borders village of St. Boswells and was educated at Kelso High School and the Royal High School in Edinburgh. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated in 1966 with a First Class Honours M.A. in History. He received his PhD from Edinburgh in 1972 for a thesis on university liberalism and democracy, 1860-1886.
As a historian, Harvie was the Shaw-Macfie Lang Fellow and a tutor at Edinburgh University from 1966 to 1969. He joined the Open University in 1969 as a history lecturer, and from 1978 he was a senior lecturer in history.
His publications include Scotland and Nationalism (1977, revised 1994), Fool’s Gold: the Story of North Sea Oil (1994), Broonland: the Last Days of Gordon Brown (2010), and Scotland the Brief: a Short History of a Nation (2010).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 30, 2018
Did you ever take notes in a class and then couldn't understand them later? That's how this read. There were constant references to things with no explanation. The index is terrible and seems random. I'd go to look up an unexplained reference only to find either no entry or a single entry referring me back to the puzzling instance that brought me to the index in the first place. At one point, there were three unexplained acronyms. Only one of them was in the index. This should have been a book for beginners. I'd tell beginners to run....
June 11, 2015
Succinct but comprehensive view of an unique national and civilisation of Europe that often punched above its weight, and was especially instrumental in the rise of the British Empire (not to mention the US) and elsewhere in the shaping of the modern world... Mr Harvie quite ell encapsulates a 1000 year plus period of graphic and confusing history into a seamless narrative...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews