I originally read a copy owned by Mom approximately 5-10 years previous to buying this copy.

This stood in my head for the proposition that sometimes a culture can be fundamentally broken -- and the way out is to adopt a more successful culture from elsewhere, and then go back and pick up the elements of the old/original culture as one chooses out of a romantic nostalgia.

Fairly recently I learned that I have a good amount of Scottish heritage in my family background. I picked up this book to try to learn a little more about my ancestral roots. I was not disappointed! The sheer number of Scots that made a name for themselves in the last couple centuries was overwhelming. This book gives not only some (mostly recent) history of Scotland, but gives many stories and details of Scots who have made an impact in the world from the 1600s on.

If you're any kind of a history nerd or just want to know more about modern Scotland, this book is a great read. ( )

The Scots certainly made a great contribution to the world in many ways. But like a lot of nations it had its rise and fall. Throughout history groups of men, indipendent of nations, have been the cause of change. One day when nations no longer exist and the world looks upon itself as a single entity containing areas within which different characters or cultures exist freely, there will still be, no doubt, groups of people who are contributing great things to the world as a whole.

Though it was curious to read about Bonnie Prince Charles's ill-fated adventure and the beginning of Great Britain, the next chunk on David Hume etc. was really tough so i fast forwarded to Walter Scott, mostly skimming through yet pausing to read about the august visit of George IV to Scotland and it's unbelievable repercussions that followed Sir Walter's cunning machinations with the image of Scots. Until i finally hit upon what was most interesting in and what i expected most of the book- not theoretical foundations of modern world but rather practical betterments to humans' lot introduced by or with the help of Scots. Alas, this part occupies only less than a third of the book. Good thing is that it is jam-packed with multiple events and inventions that brought in Industrial revolution and many other changes, which indeed made our world what it is today, more or less. There we meet interesting types (known and unknown) and learn who of those brilliant people was in fact a Scot ( for example, James Cook ;). Names and stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Lipton ( tea magnate), Tommy Dewar and John Walker ( both whiskey kings) and the two guys, who actually instigated Opium Wars make it all a very interesting read. And dozens of names are just mentioned in passing (Dunlop, McIntosh) hinting at most enjoyable Wikipedia detours :) Yammy!

Although I enjoyed reading this, I think it would have been a better book with a narrower focus. I enjoyed learning about the Scottish Enlightenment and would have enjoyed more depth on that but it started including a great many other topics that started to feel less and less connected to the Enlightenment period and by the the end it felt more like a collection of potted biographies of famous Scottish people.