Scotland: An Autobiography: 2,000 Years of Scottish History by Those Who Saw It Happen

by Rosemary Goring

A vivid, wide-ranging, and engrossing account of Scotland's history, composed of timeless stories by those who experienced it first-hand. Contributors range from Tacitus, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Oliver Cromwell to Adam Smith, David Livingstone, and Billy Connolly. These include not only historic moments-from Bannockburn to the opening of the new Parliament in 1999-but also testimonies like that of the eight-year-old factory worker who was dangled by his ear out of a third-floor window for making a mistake, the survivors of the 1746 Battle of Culloden, who wished perhaps that they had died on the field, John Logie Baird, inventor of television, and great writers including Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and the editor of Encyclopedia Britannica. From the battlefield to the sports field, this is living, accessible history told by criminals, servants, housewives, poets, journalists, nurses, prisoners, comedians, and many more.

Genres: History, Scotland, Nonfiction, European History, Historical, Unfinished, Biography

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Rosemary Goring was born in Dunbar and studied at the University of St Andrews. After graduation, she worked at W&R Chambers as a reference editor before becoming literary editor of Scotland on Sunday. She is currently literary editor and columnist for The Herald.

Reviews

[Dominic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource to use when studying the history of Scotland. It is definitely something which I'll keep coming back to and dipping in and out of as I research and read more about this fascinating country and its rich and tumultuous history.

Having contemporaneous sources for historical events rather than reading things written hundreds of years later makes for fascinating reading. It makes you realise that history hasn't always been ancient but is something constantly unfolding and evolving before our eyes. If you are interested in history, especially that of Scotland (obviously) then I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book. You don't have to read it cover to cover like I did, but dip in and out of it as articles pique your interest or you hear mention of events such as 'The Battle of Bannockburn' or 'The Highland Clearances'. And people from Mary Queen of Scots to Donald Dewar.

Scottish history buffs need this book on their shelves!

[Leon McNair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scotland: An Autobiography

A good book to pair with this reading might be - Scotland: The Story Of A Nation, Magnus Magnusson


The book contains a valuable collection of first-hand contemporaneous writings that detail Scotland in all its glory, mishaps, struggles, inventions, and engrossing history, for convenient reading in this portable treasure chest masquerading as a book. Open this chest to access the writings of Tacitus; Mary Queen of Scots; Queen Victoria; David Octavia Hill; James Boswell; John Logie Baird; Alexander Graham Bell; Daniel Defoe; and many more, including the early chronicles that depict an ancient Scotland and Scottish people involved in its mix of illustrious romance, conflict, and mythology. The accounts range from 80AD to today, and many include their fascinating loyalty with Scotland.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consisting of an eclectic collection of extracts from original sources of all kinds, witnessing 2000 years worth of Scottish history from all angles and covering a wide spectrum of topics, Rosemary Goring's Autobiography of Scotland constitutes an unusual but fascinating approach to the country's long history. Of course, the more recent the period, the more sources are available, so the majority of the historical tidbits on offer cover the time post 1800, but nevertheless there are intriguing bits and pieces here from earlier times as well. This compendium should be worth a read to anyone with an interest in Scotland, history, or both.

[Andre · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a tribute to my Scottish ancestors on my mother's side, when I saw this title I had to buy the book. The author tells the history of Scotland using hundreds of direct quotes from the writing of prominent and not so prominent Scots. From 80 AD, Tacitus, son-in-law of the Roman Governor of Britain Agricola, writes of the Roman fleet trying to see if Britain was really an island. Like so many of the people quoted, he mentions the terrible weather.

[Martin Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of extracts from original sources throughout Scottish history. A great book to dip into, some real gems of social history. A must for the bookshelf of any historically-minded Scot.

[Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seems to be a great read with an angle more from the standpoint of the ordinary soul over 2000 years of Scottish history

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A jigsaw puzzle approach to history, this book offers brief looks at people and events distinctly Scottish seen through the eyes of the individuals whose experiences are represented. It's an innovative way to give a reader a "feel" for a country. Some of my favorite pieces are the account of the execution of Mary Stuart (1587), James Boswell and Samuel Johnson on Johnson's visit to Scotland (1773), Muriel Spark's account of the origin of her character Miss Jean Brodie (1929), an account of a "hungry prostitute" (1929), and a story of mountain climbing by one Muriel Gray (1980s). I was amazed to learn of many inventors, scholars, literary figures and otherwise famous people whose names or accomplishments I knew, but whose nationality I was not aware of. It is a very fun book.

[Beth (bibliobeth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a patriotic lover of my homeland I was interested to see what this book had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised! It is written in the form of diary entries, newspaper articles, etc by the people (or friends of the people) who were around at the time. Reminded me of how many good things have come out of my beloved country. Every Scot should have a copy!

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great way of looking at the history of a country. This book tells the story of Scotland from the point of view of the people who lived through the events. It uses journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, etc in order to give a history of the country of Scotland.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a long time to finish this book. I don't think having it being in so many voices on so many topics is advantageous. It is also too long. If a third of the material was removed, it would be a better book. I can not recommend this book even though I like books on Scottish History.

[Aric Cushing]

This is how history should be written and taught. Truly amazing. Writing history from the diaries and documents of people that were there.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aunque tiene un planteamiento interesante, con extractos resumidos y adaptados todo lo posible al lector moderno, me ha costado horrores pasar las páginas. Al final la única manera de terminármelo ha sido leyendo en diagonal el millar de historias sobre logros deportivos o críticas sobre la elaboración de gachas. Hay un esfuerzo encomiable en cuanto a la selección y tratado de los textos pero, sencillamente, no era mi libro.

[Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Began reading in preparation for a holiday visit to Scotland. I like the primary sources format, but that also made it harder to read if you are not already familiar with the basic history of the land and people. Easy book to pickup and browse any page where your fingers land.

[Alan Gerard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it - but I think it would be best for someone that has some familiarity with Scottish history going into it. As someone who does not have that, I am guessing that some of the stories went past me.

[Kate M · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much more interesting, than the standard way of detailing the history of a country, with battle after battle and only describing the history of rich and aristocratic. This book describes in short story form incidents in Scottish history, often the everyday events like sports and strikes.

[Khushi Lehal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was inspired on my recent trip to Scotland to read up on things I am not too knowledgeable about. This book was a great overview of history and I am so glad I read it to understand a little more about the places I saw!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the variety of the subjects and the original sources.

[Mary Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Tara Lundie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a history grad this book is great for its unique viewpoint of Scottish history, although it did take over a month I did finish it eventually 😂

[Sofia Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used this for a research paper, and I loved the premise of gathering a bunch of quotes. I do wish that there was more connecting narrative between the quote selections.

[Derek Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather poor selection, in my opinion. Only finished this with some major skipping.

[Johanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great dippable anthology with a broad range of history covered. I was less interested in the battles and royal goings-on and more taken with the details of ordinary lives. The pauper survey and clearances make grim reading in particular

[Jessica Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book because I was about to embark on a visit to Scotland, as well as suffering from a vague sense that I should be reading a little more nonfiction. I finished the book motivated by sheer stubbornness. I found the format of the book theoretically fascinating. It's use of primary sources arranged in chronology gave me a detailed and unique look into the life of a nation. In retrospect, I have decided that I did not need to know Scottish history on this kind of level. If I were Scottish, I might actually care about the number of times a Scottish athlete won Olympic gold in a track event. As it turns out, I lack the frame of reference or personal vested interest to find that piece of trivia meaningful. If you are Scottish or a big history buff, I recommend this book. If these descriptions do not apply to you, you can probably give this book a pass.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a fantastic collection of contemporay acocunt through outs scotlands history. my attention wavered after the second half of the twentieth century. it the first hand accountsof everyday life that relalt gripped me and makes for enlightening if somewhat often disturbiong reading. if you ponder the plight of poverty in todays society take a gandrr at the lives of the people in this book to get some rela perspective. i cannot recommend this highly enough.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at Scottish history. Didn't initial expect the whole book to be a series of first hand documents (with nothing but a short paragraph highlighting the significance) but that's what it was. Having some experience / knowledge of Scotland is required to get the most out of this book. I felt that it provided very unique and rewarding vantage points of countless events in Scotland's history, BUT, you need to have a working knowledge of those events to truly enjoy it.

[Lupeng Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to get familiar with something intriguing pieces of the history of Scotland, I recommend this book full-heartedly. As a whole, hundreds of stories from upper lever of society at that certain time to the lowest show you a panoramic view of life on this sacred land, a great place which has absolutely and unequivocally captured my heart and spirit.

[Richard Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable book for anyone interested the sources for Scottish history. For me, this is a reference book to check memory and recollection against the actual record and whilst it would be hard for me (at least) to read it at a sitting it is a constant standby to dip into and to learn from.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful menagerie of personal letters and recorded documents throughout time revealed to us here. I really enjoyed this read and would highly recommend if you find Scotland captivating. It will give you a firsthand experience of the times and of the ones telling their story.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as part of a college history class. very good reference book full of short excerpts from various places and people. I do not personally care to read short pieces like this but it was a good reference book. Recommended for reference

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such an interesting way to study the history of a country.