"Before Scotland" transforms prehistory into gripping narrative history, demonstrating that the history of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour.
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Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History delves deep into the little-known world of the Picts, Scots, and others who lived before written records. It is a far-ranging book, jumping back and forth from a discussion of an ice age 24,000 years ago to a sidebar on the turn-of-the-century Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Scotland itself is the only connection between passages on the disparate topics of geology, ancient and modern history, archeology, biology, and anthropology. Before Scotland resists the current fashion in nonfiction to turn history into narrative. It generally reads like a graduate-level textbook, with a touch of bone-dry humor thrown in for good measure. In a typical reference-laden passage, the author describes a foreign name for Scotland, writing, "Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Tacitus and Ptolemy all wrote of Caledonia, and the name has shown considerable staying power. Not only has it survived in place-names like Dunkeld, the nearby mountains of Schiehallion and elsewhere, it is also frequently used in the brands of commercial companies as a pungent and meaningful alternative to 'Scotland' or 'Scottish.' And its poetic atmosphere is often found in popular music and poetry. Exiles appear to be homesick more readily for Caledonia." Occasionally witty and genuinely informative, Before Scotland will greatly interest historians, linguists, and anyone curious about how the natural world has evolved in Scotland through the centuries. --Jennifer Buckendorff
Review
"'I enormously enjoyed Before Scotland. It manages to evoke a vision of the past and of landscape in a remarkable way. The approach moving backwards and forwards across time is absolutely right - there's a timelessness about people and landscape which is brought out quite brilliantly here. This deserves to be very, very, widely read' - Barry Cunliffe, Professor of European Archaeology at Oxford University"
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating tour,
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This review is from: Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History (Hardcover)
Alistair Moffat has produced an excellent introduction to Scottish prehistory. Moffat reviews the archeology and history of Scotland from roughly 11,000 years ago until the beginning of the Middle Ages. He is at his best when he examines the archeological evidence and what it tells us about how these early inhabitants lived--what their homes were like, what they ate, how they obtained their food, the material culture they produced, and what we can guess about their religious practices. Many of the descriptions of actual historical events (with the exception of the Roman period) are covered in too little detail to be satisfying.
Although readers with training in the hard sciences may wince at some of Moffat's comments--his brief description of the Big Bang and formation of the solar system, for example--and everyone except for native Scots will wish that a good map had been included, this book is well worth the time spent. Sit back, pour a wee nip of single malt, and enjoy this journey into the past.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome storytelling,
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This review is from: Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History (Hardcover)
This was without doubt the most enthralling history of a place that I have ever read - and that's a broad statement from someone who loves biographies. It was readable, not at all stilted in language or style, and very hard to put down. Moffat tells the story and describes the people - and although a lot is conjecture and extrapolation, it has never been done better.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great work that rambles some,
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This review is from: Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History (Paperback)
I devoured this book for its insights into a period of history hard to lern about: pre-Roman scotland. I left very very informed. Some of the negative reviews have noted that it drifts some, both in terms of subject matter and style. But after you read the first few chapters (which are solid) it is easy to skip through subjects you are not as interested and home in those you are.
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