'The most powerful representation yet of the race which has repeatedly changed history as we know it' - The ScotsmanAlistair Moffat's journey, from the Scottish islands and Scotland, to the English coast, Wales, Cornwall and Ireland, ignores national boundaries to reveal the rich fabric of culture and history of Celtic Britain which still survives today.This is a vividly told, dramatic and enlightening account of the oral history, legends and battl...

Alistair Moffat tells the extraordinary story of the Highlands in the most detailed book ever written about this remarkable part of Scotland.This is the story of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland as it has never been told before. From the formation of the landscape millions of years ago to the twenty-first century, it brings to life the events and the people who have shaped Highland history, from saints, sinners and outlaws to monarchs, clan chiefs and warriors...

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...

"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...

In this modern age the regional and national boundaries which define Scotland seem fixed and permanent. But of course this has not always been so.In this book Alistair Moffat looks at the shifting political shape of the land long before its modern borders were created. In doing so he brings to vivid life the half-forgotten kingdoms that came and went during Roman times, the Dark Ages and the early medieval period. This is a fascinating journey into a tantalisingly little-known peri...

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...

'A delicious trip through the geography, history and culture of the region' – Sunday TelegraphEver since the days of the Grand Tour, Tuscany has cast its magic spell on foreign vistiors. Attracted by the perfect combination of history, art, architecture, superb natural beauty and weather – not to mention magnificent traditions of food and drink – British visitors and residents have been at times so numerous that the local word for foreigners was simply '...

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 ...

History has always mattered to Scots, and rarely more so than now at the outset of a new century, with a new census appearing in 2011 and after more than ten years of a new parliament. An almost limitless archive of our history lies hidden inside our bodies and we carry the ancient story of Scotland around with us. The mushrooming of genetic studies, of DNA analysis, is rewriting our history in spectacular fashion.In The Scots: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat explores t...

A delicious trip through the geography, history and culture of the region' – Sunday Telegraph Ever since the days of the Grand Tour, Tuscany has cast its magic spell on foreign vistiors. Attracted by the perfect combination of history, art, architecture, superb natural beauty and weather – not to mention magnificent traditions of food and drink – British visitors and residents have been at times so numerous that the local word for foreigners was simply 'gli inglesi' – 'the English'. What i...

Reflects on Scotland’s dramatic transformation since 1945 through personal memories and eyewitness accounts.Since 1945 the world has changed at breakneck speed, and life in post-war Scotland is now entirely different from what it was like when Alistair Moffat grew up in the quiet Border town of Kelso in the 1950s. At that time the rhythms and practicalities of daily life which had remained constant for many generations were about to change in the most unimaginable ...

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...