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New Edinburgh History of Scotland #10
Impaled Upon a Thistle: Scotland since 1880
Ewen Cameron explores the political debate between unionism, liberalism, socialism and nationalism, and the changing political relationship between Scotland and the United Kingdom. He sets Scottish experience alongside the Irish, Welsh and European, and considers British dimensions of historical change - involvement in two world wars, imperial growth and decline, for example - from a Scottish perspective. He relates political events to trends and movements in the economy, culture and society of the nation's regions - Borders, Lowlands, Highlands, and Islands.
Underlying the history, and sometimes impelling its ambitions, are the evolution and growth of national self-confidence and identity which fundamentally affected Scotland's destiny in the last century. Dr Cameron ends by considering how such forces may transform it in this one. Like the period it describes this book has politics at its heart. The recent upsurge of scholarship and publication, backed by the author's extensive primary research, underpin its vivid and well-paced narrative.
Underlying the history, and sometimes impelling its ambitions, are the evolution and growth of national self-confidence and identity which fundamentally affected Scotland's destiny in the last century. Dr Cameron ends by considering how such forces may transform it in this one. Like the period it describes this book has politics at its heart. The recent upsurge of scholarship and publication, backed by the author's extensive primary research, underpin its vivid and well-paced narrative.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
64 people want to read
About the author
Ewen A. Cameron
9 books1 followerEwen A. Cameron is Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 2, 2020
Ewen A. Cameron's Impaled Upon a Thistle: Scotland Since 1880 is the final volume in the chronological ten volume The New Edinburgh History of Scotland series. Note that at the time that I write this review, three volumes have yet to be published in this series (i.e., volumes 5, 7, an 8).
I have read all six of the other volumes of this series that are in print and I found Impaled Upon a Thistle to be very divergent in both content and presentation style. I believe the title very erroneously leads potential readers to believe that Cameron is covering the history of Scotland since 1880; he is not. Rather, he specifically covers the history of politics, political parties, and devolution in Scotland since the 1880s.
While Cameron does cover these topics in great detail, many of the statistics, individuals, and historical events seem to be massively detailed relative to how other books in this series have been presented. In fact, it took me significantly longer to read through Cameron's book than any other book in this series simply because I got bogged down in such details as specific election year returns (many, many pages written about these), party leadership, and regional political differences. A considerable number of other important events in Scottish history since 1880 are never presented.
The book is practically devoid in discussion concerning cultural change in Scotland, the impact of the major economic downturns (e.g., 1893 and 1930s), changes in agriculture and fisheries, the evolution of rural, suburban, and urban areas post WWII, among many other areas of historical significance. Though the North Sea oil industry is covered in the book, it is almost purely from a political perspective.
I was also disappointed in how Cameron presented the political parties. His use of certain adverbs and adjectives in various discussions made it rather obvious which political parties or party platforms he supported and disliked. As an American, I would have preferred that the facts were simply stated without spinning the narrative with a bias (perhaps an implicit bias?). I found it to be a great distraction though I generally agreed with Cameron's positions.
I have read all six of the other volumes of this series that are in print and I found Impaled Upon a Thistle to be very divergent in both content and presentation style. I believe the title very erroneously leads potential readers to believe that Cameron is covering the history of Scotland since 1880; he is not. Rather, he specifically covers the history of politics, political parties, and devolution in Scotland since the 1880s.
While Cameron does cover these topics in great detail, many of the statistics, individuals, and historical events seem to be massively detailed relative to how other books in this series have been presented. In fact, it took me significantly longer to read through Cameron's book than any other book in this series simply because I got bogged down in such details as specific election year returns (many, many pages written about these), party leadership, and regional political differences. A considerable number of other important events in Scottish history since 1880 are never presented.
The book is practically devoid in discussion concerning cultural change in Scotland, the impact of the major economic downturns (e.g., 1893 and 1930s), changes in agriculture and fisheries, the evolution of rural, suburban, and urban areas post WWII, among many other areas of historical significance. Though the North Sea oil industry is covered in the book, it is almost purely from a political perspective.
I was also disappointed in how Cameron presented the political parties. His use of certain adverbs and adjectives in various discussions made it rather obvious which political parties or party platforms he supported and disliked. As an American, I would have preferred that the facts were simply stated without spinning the narrative with a bias (perhaps an implicit bias?). I found it to be a great distraction though I generally agreed with Cameron's positions.
Displaying 1 of 1 review