Queer Theory: Law, Culture, Empire Book

Mapless in Caledonia

Of course, if the only readers of THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND were Scots themselves, a certain amount of knowledge could be assumed. However, as a North American, I confess to a (not overwhelming) ignorance of Scottish geography, never having set foot in that interesting land. A book of history with only two very basic maps (one geological !) is thereby injured right from the start. The flood of names, on the other hand, never ceases. Well, that's bound to happen when you try to cover a couple thousand years of history in 224 pages. The Somerset Fry duo plumped for a popular history. Fair enough. But I found that it was very much oriented to the procession of rulers, kings, leaders, battles, civil wars, and royal successions. There is very little on the life of the people, though a few small bows were made in that direction. As a popular history, I suppose theories and speculations on why certain trends occurred, why Scotland ultimately lost its independence and language (as opposed to Ireland), why the Scots put so much more faith in education than the English, and other interesting ideas were not de rigueur. I would never count myself at all knowledgeable about Scotland's history. This was the first book solely on the topic that I'd ever read, but I did wonder why issues such as 1) the long continuance of feudal rule, 2) the staying power of the clans, 3) the Clearances, and 4) the development of industry were not given more emphasis. I felt that the tone of the book was a little too much "Hurrah for us !"a phenomenon not exactly unknown (and lamented) on this side of the Atlantic. Very often it is books written by outsiders that give a more balanced view. Originally published in 1982, I had the 1995 American edition. In 1999, Scotland's Parliament arose once more. It is not too far-fetched to think that someday Scotland will take its rightful place among the nations of Europe--albeit a Europe that may be less unified than now. Perhaps at that time, a wider-ranging and more balanced history may be written.