Scotland for Beginners (Tr)

Getting past the "comic book" label is the hardest part for a generally seriously-minded adult. I think this is a good starter book for those of us who somehow missed getting much of any background in Scottish history, a useful run-through of critical events ... and written with a consistent point of view. You may know of the author Jeff Fellow, a political cartoonist and at least a small-n nationalist. The book's back cover blurb starts with, "Locked into unholy wedlock with England by the Union of Parliaments in 1707 Scotland's status has been that of a proud country subservient to a larger state" and ends with,"This radical history will help you to understand more about Scotland, from the old clan feuds and border raids to the modern concerns of social justice, democracy and independence." True.The only omission I regret is that Fallow said nothing about the Hudson's Bay Company sailing out of Stromness on Mainland in the Orkney Islands, that was very important in our Canadian history and the blood of Scots who sailed out of Stromness runs in many Canadians today.Scotland for Beginners is a reasonably priced paperback, still in print though it could use some updating because it went to press around the time of the 1999 (re-)opening of the Scottish Parliament.As always useful in a history book, Scotland for Beginners has an index, a chronology, and a list of suggested further reading, as well as a geneology of the kings and queens. And there's a bonus, a list of famous Scots... though it somehow omitted Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, BC's famous frontier judge and first Chief Justice.I'm keeping this book, and I'm glad to give it five stars.

Jeff Fallow does good work here. He takes the complex world of Scottish history with all of it's twists, turns, and outrages and makes enjoyable reading for the newly interested.I read this book over a year ago, and still refer to it from time to time.If you are interested in Scottish history, and don't know where to begin your studying, try this. At the very least, you will have an instant reference guide and a good place to start.

Scotland is one of the most beautifull countries in the world and this book shows that