The histories of nations are never as simple as their legends suggest. George Rosie has been driven by a powerful curiosity about the country he has lived in since he was an Edinburgh schoolboy fifty years ago. This lively mindset has established him as one of Scotland's most inquiring writers and journalists, in print and on television. In Curious Scotland, he unearths and illuminates many neglected aspects of Scottish history in a rich collection of episodes that ranges from the Picts to the Indian tribes of North America. What became of the sons of Robert Burns? How did Scotland influence the Ku Klux Klan? Why was a Hebridean island deliberately infested with anthrax? The answers lie in a book which reveals the complexity, contradictions and sheer interestingness of Scotland's long and strange story.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'Provides a wealth of evidence ... an enjoyable compendium' -- The Bookseller (Bookseller’s Choice)
'wonderful purgative for the cant and myth that surround Scottish history... written with wit and economy, immaculately researched.' -- Scotland on Sunday
‘An enjoyable patchwork of tales from a history that if not exactly "hidden" is sometimes mistily "obscured"’ -- TLS
‘The book itself more than lives up to its title – and its subtitle.' -- Daily Mail (Scotland)
'wonderful purgative for the cant and myth that surround Scottish history... written with wit and economy, immaculately researched.' -- Scotland on Sunday
‘An enjoyable patchwork of tales from a history that if not exactly "hidden" is sometimes mistily "obscured"’ -- TLS
‘The book itself more than lives up to its title – and its subtitle.' -- Daily Mail (Scotland)
About the Author
George Rosie is a reporter, writer and broadcaster. Among his many credits, his documentary After Lockerbie won a BAFTA in 1998, and he has contributed to The Guardian, New Statesman, The Scotsman and The Herald, among others. He lives in Edinburgh and is working on his second novel.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Every now and again I like to drive down from my home in Edinburgh to East Lothian, and there scramble my way to the top of the whaleback hill know as Traprian Law. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Every now and again I like to drive down from my home in Edinburgh to East Lothian, and there scramble my way to the top of the whaleback hill know as Traprian Law. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By E. Moore
Format:Paperback
To my shame, Mr Rosie's book has passed me by until recently. I think it's a wonderful book, and do wish I had read it earlier. The book is revelatory, with lots of stuff I didn't know. I didn't know, for example, about the gruesome executions of those of Bruce's enemies he could get away with killing, and my acquaintance with the old North Britons is now much extended, as is my knowledge about much of Scotland's hidden yet significant byways.
It's always a good sign when you remain in disagreement with an author yet accept he or she has made a good argument: I have never, for example, come across a better case being made for John Knox. It didn't quite convince me, but I now have a much better understanding of the man.
Mr Rosie writes beautifully as well - I devoured the book in three nights. Great stuff.
It's always a good sign when you remain in disagreement with an author yet accept he or she has made a good argument: I have never, for example, come across a better case being made for John Knox. It didn't quite convince me, but I now have a much better understanding of the man.
Mr Rosie writes beautifully as well - I devoured the book in three nights. Great stuff.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and obscure facts
16 Nov 2006
By Linda J. Manson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book at my husband's request. He is of Scottish descent, and we have visited his cousins in Caithness, Scotland, so this book was of great interest to him. He has enjoyed the book immensely, learning lots of interesting and unusual facts about the country and it's people, and has even started contacting various Scotsmen he knows to check out and verify some of those facts. Most interesting to him was the information about John Ross, and he is now trying to find relatives or descendants of John Ross.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of Scotland...it has been a great read for my husband, quite enjoyable and at times very humorous.
Written in the voice of a Scotsman, the book is eloquent yet succint.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of Scotland...it has been a great read for my husband, quite enjoyable and at times very humorous.
Written in the voice of a Scotsman, the book is eloquent yet succint.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Rosie Look at Scotland
6 Nov 2012
By Couch Cutie
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being well written and informative George Rosie's book, "Curious Scotland", showcases obscure Scottish history ranging from ancient to modern times. As an entertaining palate cleanser he inserted rather ascerbic "outsider" commentaries between sections entitled "As Others See Us", which serve to amuse through their outrageous, unjust, small-minded diatribes. The overall impression gained is that Scotland is a hardy country peopled with industrious and interesting individuals and that Rosie's work affords a panorama of their experiences which have contributed to establishing a very rich and unique cultural heritage.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Dour Scotsman
7 May 2009
By J. D. Livingston
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rosie demonstratea a general smallness of spirit. He seems incapable of finding anything noble, romantic of even fun in the Scottish experience. He is the quintessence of dour, akin to the John Knox he admires. The more readers he attracts to this book, the longer we can wait for Scotland to regain it place among the soverign states of the world.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Ireland
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Scotland
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
