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The New Penguin History of Scotland: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day
Incorporating the work of some of Scotland's leading historians, this definitive history of the country chronicles some eight thousand years, from the Neolithic period to the present day, covering the people and events that have shaped Scotland and furnishing essays on such topics as archaeology, economics, science, religion, literature, and other disciplines. Original.
573 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 22, 2024
Review of Vol. 1 (Prehistory to 1707) only. When (or if) I ever read Vol. 2 I will revise this review accordingly.
Several items disappointed me with this history. First, it is such a high-level survey of the entire history of what is present-day Scotland that it often founders in generalities without the level of specifics necessary to ground the history for the reader. Second, despite being so clearly a broad introductory overview, likely appealing to the non-expert, the various authors too often refer to certain events merely by reference without any explanation, as if it is expected that the readers already know about such important events (in which case why would the readers be bothering with such a broad-overview?), and even more bothersome is the constant reference to regions or towns or shires by their modern names, despite the fact that each map for each chapter is limited to a sparse number of towns or regions as they were known during that period, not modern day. That lack of a detailed map of modern day Scotland (at least in Vol. 1) is inexcusable. Third, the lack of coordination between the manner in which each chapter is written is confounding.
While the chapters from prehistory through 1099 progress mostly chronologically, the chapter concerning 1100-1560 throws that out the window and leads off with the 1328 wedding of the Scottish and English child heirs to the thrones, and then flits back and forth throughout as if those 460 years were a solid block of time without chronological causality. Even worse, the author time and again tells you that the life of the peasant in each of the discussions is pretty much unknown, even though they made up ~98% of the population according to the author, and so instead the author offhandedly says that the evidence of the aristocracy can be used as a guide, even specifically that wedding between the royals. Does he really want us to believe that the foods the royals ate at their wedding is indicative of foods the peasants had access to, or that the same motivations and monetary discussions surrounding that wedding had counterparts in the peasantry?
The final chapter of Vol. 1 (1560-1707, Reformation to Union) is probably the best organized and written, and also happens to be the period in which I was most interested in reading about anyway, so perhaps I am biased. While in all likelihood I will one day get to Vol. 2, I'm certainly not going to be in a rush.
Several items disappointed me with this history. First, it is such a high-level survey of the entire history of what is present-day Scotland that it often founders in generalities without the level of specifics necessary to ground the history for the reader. Second, despite being so clearly a broad introductory overview, likely appealing to the non-expert, the various authors too often refer to certain events merely by reference without any explanation, as if it is expected that the readers already know about such important events (in which case why would the readers be bothering with such a broad-overview?), and even more bothersome is the constant reference to regions or towns or shires by their modern names, despite the fact that each map for each chapter is limited to a sparse number of towns or regions as they were known during that period, not modern day. That lack of a detailed map of modern day Scotland (at least in Vol. 1) is inexcusable. Third, the lack of coordination between the manner in which each chapter is written is confounding.
While the chapters from prehistory through 1099 progress mostly chronologically, the chapter concerning 1100-1560 throws that out the window and leads off with the 1328 wedding of the Scottish and English child heirs to the thrones, and then flits back and forth throughout as if those 460 years were a solid block of time without chronological causality. Even worse, the author time and again tells you that the life of the peasant in each of the discussions is pretty much unknown, even though they made up ~98% of the population according to the author, and so instead the author offhandedly says that the evidence of the aristocracy can be used as a guide, even specifically that wedding between the royals. Does he really want us to believe that the foods the royals ate at their wedding is indicative of foods the peasants had access to, or that the same motivations and monetary discussions surrounding that wedding had counterparts in the peasantry?
The final chapter of Vol. 1 (1560-1707, Reformation to Union) is probably the best organized and written, and also happens to be the period in which I was most interested in reading about anyway, so perhaps I am biased. While in all likelihood I will one day get to Vol. 2, I'm certainly not going to be in a rush.
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September 9, 2022I didn't read the whole book -- just the introduction and the prehistory chapter before visiting archeological sites in Kirkwall, Orkney.
April 30, 2023
I was a little disappointed with this one. The earlier chapters were by far more interesting. The later ones assumed you knew a lot (I didn't know) and the writer was often caustic and flippant.
January 8, 2012
This book provides an account of thematic history of Scotland. It is very disjointed, hard to follow and downright boring at times. I am a big fan of the Oxford History series for their scholarly level but wanted to save some money so I bought this one instead. It was a big mistake. While this is academic it is so poorly edited that you cannot focus on anything. Most of the articles and sections focus on the social, religious and cultural history but they are not tied in from chapter to chapter. There is almost no focus on military affairs and the parts that focus on the royalty do not provide a context. Stay with Oxford this one is not worth the money.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews