A Traveller's History of Scotland

by Andrew Fisher

The broad sweep of Scotland’s story, both past and present, is chronicled by one of the country’s best historians. Andrew Fisher begins with Scotland’s first people and their culture and ends with Devolution and the setting up of the first Scottish parliament since 1707. Before the arrival of the Vikings in 900, Scotland was a land of romantic kingdoms and saints, gradually overtaken by more pragmatic struggles for power. Centuries of bloody strife lead up to the turbulent years of Mary Queen of Scots, the Calvinistic legacy of John Knox, and the bitterness of final defeat. The dreams of the Jacobites are contrasted with the cruel reality of the end of the Stewarts and the Act of Union with England. Scotland now saw an age of industry and despoliation. The result was much emigration and obsession with the nation’s past, which glorified the legends of the Highlander and the Clans. In this century, the loss of identity and drift to the south have perhaps been checked at last by a new step forward for Scotland as a result of its Devolution, the setting up of a Scottish parliament, and the symbolic return of the Stone of Destiny. This handy paperback is fully indexed with a chronology of major events and a gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text. It is illustrated with line drawings and historical maps.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction, History, Travel

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a tedious book. Calling this a Traveller's History of Scotland is a mistake. No traveler wants to read this book before going to Scotland. The author crams as many very detailed facts about Scotland (beginning with the formation of the freaking earth) into this short book. It's confusing and boring with run-on sentences and, weirdly, placed, commas. If you're going to Scotland, do not read this book. It's a bunch of names (and since most of the history is about the royal people, it's usually two different names with all their titles) and after a while you cease to give a shit about who did what to whom when. The only chapters I found vaguely interesting were the ones dealing with famous historical people I already knew a little about (Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, "Bonnie" Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender). A good traveler's history of Scotland would have given an overview of Scottish history with highlights on the most most important events and people. Not name everyone and everything that happened since the Picts. Also, this good traveler's history of Scotland would have pointed out specific areas of history to the tourist who wants to be well-informed; such as, if you travel to Edinburgh, you'll be interested to know that this, this and this happened here. A traveler's history arranged by the region would have been much helpful to me than this info dump. As it is, I didn't really retain anything I read because it was way too much. So...if you're traveling to Scotland and want to know something about the history of the region, do not read this book!

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the title is a bit deceiving, as I can see that some people may be looking for a quick reference to Scotland's history. However, for someone like me who will be traveling there this year and who doesn't know much about its past, this was the perfect comprehensive reading. It is well written, without being bogged down by details and yet, provides the reader with good descriptions of events and how things were at particular times in history.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an easy read. Lots of guys named James.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Traveller's History seies is for anybody who wants a comprehensive view of a nation's past history from earliest tme right up to the present day.

A Traveller's History of Scotland begins with Scotland's first people and their culture. Before the Vikings in 900 it was a land of romantic kingdoms and saints, gradually overtaken by more pragmatic struggles for power. Centuries of strife led up to the turbulent years of Mary Queen of Scots, the Calvinistic legacy of Knox, and the bitterness of final defeat.

The dreams of the Jacobites are contrasted with the cruel reality of the end of the Stewarts and the Act of Union with England. Scotland now saw an age of industry and despoliation. The result was much emigration and an obsession with the nation's past which glorified the legends of the Highlander and the Clans. In this century, a loss of identify and a drift to the south has been followed by a new surge of national pride with higher aspirations for the future.

A Traveller's History of Scotland explains the roots of Scottish history and is an invaluable companion for visitors."
~~back cover

I was so impressed by this book! The author was brilliant at distilling the rich tapestry of Scottish history into its essence -- all the important battles and assassinations and plots and historic coincidences are there. But it's a slim volume, for all of that -- easy reading for a historic tract. I highly recommend it if you're at all interested in Scottish history.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not impressed. Do not see how this would pertain to travel. Inordinate amount of time spent on monarchies and skips around so much that it is difficult to understand timeline for things. Did not like it at all.

[Katherine Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the Ireland one from this series. The narrative was livelier, more engaging. However, both suffered from the same problem of assuming my knowledge was deeper than it is. I'm admittedly pretty ignorant of the history of these countries. Heck, we don't even learn our own history over here. Still, what I did not catch about some references did not seem to impact my basic ability to catch the broad history - just some nuances escaped me.

It's a good book for starting to learn. I got to read about one of my ancestors, Robert Bruce. That was cool.

[Donald Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slightly plodding bit thorough overview of Scottish history with some - but not enough - interpretation or analysis (though what there is is interesting. So it reads a bit like ‘one damn thing after another.’

Also significantly out of date now.

[Steven Townend · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was OK. It focused on the political state of Scotland throughout the ages. It may be just the people involved in the various political struggles but the the commonality of a lot of the names involved confused me as to who was who.

[Sihanouk Mariona · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick brush over the main bullet points of the history. Ultimately, it's a dry read because it mostly centers around the main names in the bloodlines of leadership. Still worth the read if you're looking to learn a bit, or travel there.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fisher helped prepare us for a very pleasant trip to Scotland.

[Eugenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected something a little broader and a little more entertaining. Still, I did get some good information from this little book.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this would be of particular interest to travelers, other than it's a relatively brief overview of Scotland's history. I think it devotes a bit too much time to all the rivalries among medieval kings and not enough time to the Scotland that emerges out of the Union. The most interesting section to me was modern Scotland, particularly the discussion of the push toward nationalism in the 20th century. There is an interesting discussion of how the Scotland of fable and story was essentially created by Walter Scott.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of this book at the library in preparation for an upcoming trip to Scotland. I managed to finish it but the writing style is not friendly to readers not already familiar with Scottish history. A name would be mentioned out of nowhere along with a title and then the author would refer to the individual by their title thereafter, making it very confusing. Nevertheless, I do feel like I have much better knowledge of Scottish history as a result. I have also picked up "In Search of Scotland" based on BBC show by the same name. So far it is a much easier read.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm digging my way slowly through this--the first non-fiction grown-up book I've read in a very, very long time if you don't count biographies. I think that it will move more quickly now that I'm past the Roman Empire.

I'm still digging my way through this somewhat small book, but it is becoming more readable and so what did my husband, sweet man that he is buy for me? A History of the Scotch-Irish, published obviously in 1962 before the term Scots-Irish took its place.

[Gael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a definite 5-star! Not only did it immensely improve my understanding of the places I visited (and thus my enjoyment), I was also able to impress a guide or two with my knowledge. I highly recommend this series, either out of interest for the place or because you plan to travel.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not a romantic view of Scotland's long history. It is just the facts but it is a good starting point.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great general overview of the history of Scotland. This wasn't too detailed, and gave me a good sense of the struggles over the years. Enjoyable!

[Palak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will make to you travel back in time. Quiet deep and lots of things to grasp.