Five hundred million years of Scottish history from the author of Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms: "Deserves a prominent place in the history canon" ( Scots Magazine).Covering the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, the acclaimed historian and author explores the history of the Scottish nation. Focusing on key moments such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Jacobite risings, Moffat also features other episodes in history that are perhaps les...

A Scottish historian travels along the cultural and geographical border of the Highlands in this "seductive travelogue" (Scottish Field).Running from the northeast to the southwest of Scotland, the Highland Line is the most profound internal boundary in Britain. First recognized by the Roman general Agricola in the first century AD, it divides the country in many senses—signaling the border between Highland and Lowland; Celtic and English-speaking; crofting and far...

This unique "fusion of science and the physical history" traces the story of the Scots through their DNA ( Sunday Herald).An almost limitless archive of our history lies hidden inside our bodies, and this book traces the ancient story of Scotland from that scientific viewpoint. The mushrooming of genetic studies, of DNA analysis, is rewriting history in spectacular fashion.In Scotland: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat explores the history ...

"S ome of the most fascinating, intriguing and, yes, brutal episodes of the region's past written in the fast-paced, involving style of an adventure novel" ( Italy Magazine, "Book of the Week").With the perfect fusion of history, art, architecture, superb natural beauty, and weather—not to mention magnificent traditions of food and drink—Tuscany has cast its spell over visitors for centuries. What is it t...

A "fascinating historical detective work" that pins down the real story of the legendary medieval king and the court of Camelot ( Spectator).The Holy Grail, the kingdom of Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, and the magical sword Excalibur are all key ingredients of the legends surrounding King Arthur. But who was he really, where did he come from, and how much of what we read about him in stories that date back to the Dark Ages is true? So far, hist...

"This account of four west coast journeys in search of the remnants of the earliest Christian missionaries is intriguing . . . Moffat is an engaging guide." — The ScotsmanFourteen centuries ago, Irish saints brought the Word of God to the Hebrides and Scotland's Atlantic shore. These "white martyrs" sought solitude, remoteness, even harshness, in places apart from the world where they could fast, pray and move closer to an understanding of God: places where...

A "compelling, thought-provoking and entertaining history" of Hadrian's Wall, one of Britain's most intriguing landmarks ( Herald).Hadrian's Wall is the largest and one of the most enigmatic historical monuments in Britain. Nothing else approaches its vast scale: a land wall running seventy-three miles from east to west and a sea wall stretching at least twenty-six miles down the Cumbrian coast. Many of its forts are as large as Britain's most formidable me...

Dive into Northern Britain's Dark Ages in "a book which gives a satisfying and convincing account of this little-known part of Scotland's history" ( Undiscovered Scotland).Modern communications have driven motorways and pylons through the countryside, dwarfed us with TV and telephone masts, and drastically altered the way in which we move around, see, and understand Scotland. Recent politics and logistics have established borders and jurisdictions which no...

A "beautifully written" history of the Scottish Borders—from the Ice Age to present day—by the author of Scotland: A History from Earliest Times ( Boston Sunday Herald).This is the story of the border: a place of beginnings and endings, of differences and similarities. It is the story of England and Scotland, told not from the remoteness of London or Edinburgh or in the tired terms of national histories, but up close and personal, toe to toe and e...

The acclaimed historian sets off in the footsteps of the Highland clans, exploring places of conflict in twelve journeys.As Alistair Moffat recounts the military prowess of the clans—surely the most feared fighting men in western Europe—he also speaks of their lives, their language and culture before it was all swept away.From the colonisers who attempted to 'civilise' the islanders of Lewis in the sixteenth century through the great battles of the eighteen...

An "exciting and dramatic" history of the raiders who ruled the lawless Anglo-Scottish borderlands for over a century ( Cumberland News).Nowhere else in Britain in the modern era, or indeed in Europe, did civil order break down over such a wide area, or for such a long time, as on the border country between Scotland and England. For more than a century, the hoofbeats of countless raiding parties drummed over the border. From Dumfriesshire to the high wastes...

‘a fine picture of our strange and varied country’ Scotsman‘edifying and revelatory’ Herald‘an epic love story to Scotland’ Courier‘by turns inspiring and fascinating … a book that gives context to the Scotland we see around us today’ Undiscovered Scotland‘a fascinating alternative take on the country’s social, political and cultural histories’ Scottish Field *****Kathleen Jamie, Alexander McCall Smith, Al...