Bannockburn: The Battle for a Nation

by Alistair Moffat

Bestselling author Alistair Moffat offers fresh insights into one of the most famous battles in history: Bannockburn. As 8,000 Scottish solders, most of them spearmen, faced 18,000 English infantrymen, archers, and mounted knights on the morning of Sunday 23 June 1314, many would have thought the result a foregone conclusion. But after two days of fighting, the English were routed. Edward II fled to Dunbar and took ship for home, and only one English unit escaped from Scotland intact. The emphatic defeat of much larger English force was the moment that enabled Scotland to remain independent and pursue a different destiny. This book follows in detail the events of those two days that changed history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Scotland, War, Military Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Alistair Moffat is an award winning writer, historian and former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television.

Moffat was educated at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 1972 with a degree in Medieval History. He is the founder of the Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this book quite hard to rate. The truth is, this is a solid 5 star piece of work. The research which has gone into this really shows in Moffat's thorough examination of the event. As an academic with a pretty sound knowledge of the Wars of Independence I also have no disagreement with the narrative other than the occasional minor interpretation of an event. For example Moffat takes the Declaration of Arbroath to be a statement of nationalism from the time of writing and I disagree with that. These are only minor issues to be debated however and there are no issues with regards to factual accuracy.

My biggest issue is that it is difficult to tell exactly where Moffat has sourced his information as, asides from the Bibliography at the back, there are no references throughout the book. I can see why he has done this. References would make the book look like a text book and would perhaps be off putting to some people. However, one would imagine that anyone picking up a book such as this probably has some experience in reading history books anyway.

My favourite thing about the book is its writing style. The book is very clear, laid out extremely well, and is really easy to follow. In fact I already have another couple of Moffat's books in my to read pile and this alone has bumped them up my priority list.

4/5 stars.

[Steven Shook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alistair Moffat's Bannockburn: The Battle for a Nation provides a comprehensive account of the events leading up to the Scottish-English battle that took place June 23/24, 1314, at Bannock Burn, located near Stirling, Scotland. The surprising defeat of Edward II's English army at the hands of the Robert Bruce's much smaller force led to Bruce being undeniably recognized as the King of Scotland.

Moffat's writing style makes for quick reading. Included are very descriptive maps and several appendices of contemporary source material that Moffat used in preparing his story. Also included is a bibliography for those interested in learning more of the people and places associated with the battle.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moffat is a medieval scholar so he knows his stuff, but he has written this in a decidedly non-academic manner; it is therefore an excellent book on the topic for those who are interested but not historians. There are no notes, but he does include brief bios of the primary actors and a list of suggested further reading. He also includes sections of primary source material such as the Lanercost Chronicle, which makes them more accessible to people not previously familiar with them.

[Kevin McMahon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent little book on the history of the Battle of Bannockburn as well as a dramatis personae of all the main characters.

The author has made it easy to read and provided lots of little facts that are right up my street and it was good to read about places that I knew.

It also showed my lack of Scottish history knowledge which is something I am keen to address.

[Richard Gilbertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book but well written and the author clearly has a passion for the subject. I’ve always been under the impression that Bannockburn was an ‘ambush’ and a ‘bit of luck’ for the ‘plucky Scots’. It was fascinating to read the truth of how King Robert out-thought and out-fought Edward II