Customer Reviews

A Traveller's History of Scotland

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I purchased this book to get some background before a short trip to Scotland. I thought that a short (230 pages) book written for travelers would give me a good overview of Scottish history - focusing mainly on the important events. Instead, this book is a very dry listing of names and dates without any depth. It might as well just be published as a list of bullet points (which would probably be easier to follow too). The author also presents a very bleak and depressing view of Scotland's past.
As mentioned, the book is very hard to follow as Fisher throws many unimportant facts at you - often out of chronological order. He has the very irritating habit of introducing a new king or ruler by immediately describing their death and the choice of a successor before going back in time to actually tell you about their reign. This focus on death also contributes to the depressing tone of the book.
The intended audience of travelers will not find this book useful at all. There are several maps, but many of the places mentioned in the book are not on any of them - requiring a much greater familiarity with Scotland than most visitors will have.

A previous reviewer complained the author presented this history of Scotland in a "bleak and depressing" manner. My dear boy, Scotland's ancient history WAS bleak and depressing! Were you expecting a joyous recitation on the wee people, Nessie, and how to make Scotch? How would it be possible to present a history of Scottish kings without mentioning they had died?

Part of what is so incredible about Scotland and its people is the horrible elements hurled at them, by both man and nature, with which they battled for survival, and over which they triumphed. For a serious intellectual interested in the unglossy, non-touristy version of Scotland's history, this is an excellent, if somewhat necessarily abbreviated, source of well-researched factual history, presented by a leading expert in the field.

On the other hand, if your cerebral matter requires a bit less challenging source of information, you might check out "The Ultimate Guide to Being Scottish," a wonderful, light read. Or, if you're visiting Scotland try hooking up with a tour, such as whiteheathertravelDOTcom, where you get happy, little, romantic, snippets which require no nasty depressing, brain-strain whatsoever.