Scan barcode
infinite_tbr's review against another edition
2.0
While highly entertaining, this book does leave some important details out and has a clear bias. I enjoyed it though and learned a lot about Scottish history. For anyone wanting to get an overview of several thousand years of history, this is a good way to do it. However, I would caution anyone who wants to read it to remember the author’s bias and think critically about the way the facts are presented.
rygallagher's review against another edition
4.0
As a professor from college repeatedly told our class: “Look. Up. Your. Authors!”
I enjoyed the narrative of this book. I knew going in that it was popular level work, and it was covering a vast amount of history, so I think I had managed expectations as far as scholarly detail and nuance. I had also heard that Neil Oliver was a controversial figure and I did some light googling but didn’t find anything majorly problematic, and I enjoyed his Viking book and BBC documentaries without getting any white supremacist vibes. So we read it and not having a lot of experience with Scottish history it was hard to be entirely critical in analysis of it — it even seemed to be progressive at times when it came to race or class-consciousness, or criticism of 18-19th century robber-baron tobacco and iron lords, Margaret Thatcher’s neoliberalism, and MacDiarmid’s neofascism, even pointing out how ridiculous and hypocritical the American War for Independence was. But looking back his criticism of those things still seems to be from a motivation of nationalistic self-determination as opposed to an international working class self-determination. It’s easy to be progressive in relation to the past, the real test is being progressive without the benefit of historical consensus.
But after finishing it and reading some of the other reviews that point out some problematic passages with implicit misogyny, ethnic purity, etc I found Oliver’s Twitter and it’s just an absolute dumpster fire of COVID-trutherism, “muh rights” and Jordan Peterson. Not ideal!
I don’t think he is writing white supremacist revisionist history — I think he’s just a boomer nationalist neoliberal who sees Smith and Hume’s era of Scottish Enlightenment as the pinnacle of all civilization. The narrative deteriorated a bit after that era. He even shoehorns in this random defense of TERF J.K. Rowling, saying she is the best-selling author of all time and somehow still an unappreciated victim? There are just some comments that would be given the benefit of the doubt if you never looked at his Twitter feed.
It’s fine for popular level entertainment I guess, I enjoyed learning more about familiar characters like William Wallace and Mary Queen of Scots, and his nuance in how the Protestant Reformation spurred on early (white, liberal) democratic movements, but he doesn’t even really cite his sources and as a person is pretty problematic. I am sure there are better sources for Scottish history out there, and I’m not going to recommend an author who tweets about Jordan Peterson and anti-vax rhetoric.
I enjoyed the narrative of this book. I knew going in that it was popular level work, and it was covering a vast amount of history, so I think I had managed expectations as far as scholarly detail and nuance. I had also heard that Neil Oliver was a controversial figure and I did some light googling but didn’t find anything majorly problematic, and I enjoyed his Viking book and BBC documentaries without getting any white supremacist vibes. So we read it and not having a lot of experience with Scottish history it was hard to be entirely critical in analysis of it — it even seemed to be progressive at times when it came to race or class-consciousness, or criticism of 18-19th century robber-baron tobacco and iron lords, Margaret Thatcher’s neoliberalism, and MacDiarmid’s neofascism, even pointing out how ridiculous and hypocritical the American War for Independence was. But looking back his criticism of those things still seems to be from a motivation of nationalistic self-determination as opposed to an international working class self-determination. It’s easy to be progressive in relation to the past, the real test is being progressive without the benefit of historical consensus.
But after finishing it and reading some of the other reviews that point out some problematic passages with implicit misogyny, ethnic purity, etc I found Oliver’s Twitter and it’s just an absolute dumpster fire of COVID-trutherism, “muh rights” and Jordan Peterson. Not ideal!
I don’t think he is writing white supremacist revisionist history — I think he’s just a boomer nationalist neoliberal who sees Smith and Hume’s era of Scottish Enlightenment as the pinnacle of all civilization. The narrative deteriorated a bit after that era. He even shoehorns in this random defense of TERF J.K. Rowling, saying she is the best-selling author of all time and somehow still an unappreciated victim? There are just some comments that would be given the benefit of the doubt if you never looked at his Twitter feed.
It’s fine for popular level entertainment I guess, I enjoyed learning more about familiar characters like William Wallace and Mary Queen of Scots, and his nuance in how the Protestant Reformation spurred on early (white, liberal) democratic movements, but he doesn’t even really cite his sources and as a person is pretty problematic. I am sure there are better sources for Scottish history out there, and I’m not going to recommend an author who tweets about Jordan Peterson and anti-vax rhetoric.
clardyparty's review against another edition
4.0
Comprehensive history of Scotland. Clear enough for an American to follow.
What I disliked: heavy on cliched language, despite fresh ideas.
What I liked: author’s taking responsibility for Scots role in American slavery.
What I disliked: heavy on cliched language, despite fresh ideas.
What I liked: author’s taking responsibility for Scots role in American slavery.
pocketvolcano's review against another edition
4.0
This goes up to the early to mid 1990s which makes sense. It was hard to get into at first -the author starts at the very beginning and I mean very beginning. He recounts how the land mass that became Scotland started out connected to the other continents, broke off and drifted up into the North Atlantic to where it is now. It was a unique choice to start off the book but eventually he gets into the pre-historic record of where the first Scots came from and things pick up from there. The author focuses a lot on the land itself throughout the book but also does a fine job with the people as well.
One thing in particular I liked was the fact that his wit and “voice” are on full display here. Some of his observations & recounting of events had me laughing. This isn’t a dry recounting of facts but a story infused with the author’s distinctive opinions.
One thing in particular I liked was the fact that his wit and “voice” are on full display here. Some of his observations & recounting of events had me laughing. This isn’t a dry recounting of facts but a story infused with the author’s distinctive opinions.
schreibratte's review against another edition
3.0
Ein Geschichtsbuch ist doch immer etwas anderes als ein Roman. Es ist normal, dass es sich hier und da etwas zieht und dass man es nicht so schnell wegliest. Also halte ich auch nur in Stichpunkten fest, was gut und was schlecht war:
Was mir gefallen hat:
- Neil Olivers Erzählstimme. Sie geht nirgends unter und verleiht dem ganzen einen individuellen Stil
- der Fokus auf einzelnen Personen, die zwar bestimmt nicht immer historisch korrekt dargestellt wurden und hier und da viel Spekulationen enthielten, das Ganze dafür aber lebendiger werden ließen
- mehr Gewicht für Zusammenhänge, Kausalitäten und Zeitgeist als Daten und Herrscherhäuser
- die feine Balance zwischen schottischem Patriotismus und Vermeiden, deshalb in nationalistische Sichten abzudriften
- Bilder! Und weitere Lesehinweise, sowie ein Stichwortverzeichnis, wenn man noch mal nachblättern will, wie das mit einzelnen Ereignissen war
- alle Kapitel, die sich um Zeiten drehten, von denen ich eh schon viel wusste: Pikten und Kelten, Mary Queen of Scots, die Jakobiten und Culloden (hallo, Outlander!)
was mir nicht gefallen hat:
- der Anfang. Himmel, wie lange kann man über Steine schreiben? Und wie weitschweifend ist es, die Geschichte Schottlands erst mal mit der Entstehung der Erde und Kontinente zu beginnen? Mag zwar korrekt sein, aber wenn ich das will, such ich mir ein anderes Buch
- so viel Gewicht auf Zusammenhängen und Einzelpersonen, dass ich ungefähr nichts mehr weiß von den Epochen, von denen ich auch vorher nichts wusste. Es verschwimmt alles ineinander und vor allem, wenn der Sohn noch hieß wie der Vater und alle James nicht nur eine Nummer hatten, sondern gleich mehrere (weil König von Schottland und König von England...)
- Hier und da war es mir viel zu sehr gefärbt von Neil Oliver. Und zu spekulativ
- ein paar Zeittafeln oder Ähnliches wären nett gewesen. Klar, schreckt ab, weil es an ein Schulbuch erinnert, aber hätte mir sehr geholfen, wenn ich orientierungslos war, was gerade passiert
Generell war es für einen Überblick zu viel Input, für Einzelepochen und Schicksale zu wenig. Trotzdem eine lohnenswerte Lektüre.
Was mir gefallen hat:
- Neil Olivers Erzählstimme. Sie geht nirgends unter und verleiht dem ganzen einen individuellen Stil
- der Fokus auf einzelnen Personen, die zwar bestimmt nicht immer historisch korrekt dargestellt wurden und hier und da viel Spekulationen enthielten, das Ganze dafür aber lebendiger werden ließen
- mehr Gewicht für Zusammenhänge, Kausalitäten und Zeitgeist als Daten und Herrscherhäuser
- die feine Balance zwischen schottischem Patriotismus und Vermeiden, deshalb in nationalistische Sichten abzudriften
- Bilder! Und weitere Lesehinweise, sowie ein Stichwortverzeichnis, wenn man noch mal nachblättern will, wie das mit einzelnen Ereignissen war
- alle Kapitel, die sich um Zeiten drehten, von denen ich eh schon viel wusste: Pikten und Kelten, Mary Queen of Scots, die Jakobiten und Culloden (hallo, Outlander!)
was mir nicht gefallen hat:
- der Anfang. Himmel, wie lange kann man über Steine schreiben? Und wie weitschweifend ist es, die Geschichte Schottlands erst mal mit der Entstehung der Erde und Kontinente zu beginnen? Mag zwar korrekt sein, aber wenn ich das will, such ich mir ein anderes Buch
- so viel Gewicht auf Zusammenhängen und Einzelpersonen, dass ich ungefähr nichts mehr weiß von den Epochen, von denen ich auch vorher nichts wusste. Es verschwimmt alles ineinander und vor allem, wenn der Sohn noch hieß wie der Vater und alle James nicht nur eine Nummer hatten, sondern gleich mehrere (weil König von Schottland und König von England...)
- Hier und da war es mir viel zu sehr gefärbt von Neil Oliver. Und zu spekulativ
- ein paar Zeittafeln oder Ähnliches wären nett gewesen. Klar, schreckt ab, weil es an ein Schulbuch erinnert, aber hätte mir sehr geholfen, wenn ich orientierungslos war, was gerade passiert
Generell war es für einen Überblick zu viel Input, für Einzelepochen und Schicksale zu wenig. Trotzdem eine lohnenswerte Lektüre.
nomada's review against another edition
4.0
Aside from the first two chapters - which spent a lot of time on the literal physically changing landscape of Scotland - this book has proven to be an utterly delightful journey into the history of Scotland. A lot of times when reading books on history, I have found myself wondering — Where is the heart? Why should I care, when it seems you barely do? But this book, is filled to the brim with the authors love of his country, it’s history and it’s people. It’s also got this underlying current of an attitude, as if you were having a conversation with an opinionated old friend. If you like history, I would highly recommend this book.
#read
#read
mdzreynolds's review against another edition
5.0
As a reader who loves history, but finds history books dry and boring, I was beyond thrilled to not only discover this book but be enchanted by the story-telling. Neil Oliver brings his own unique voice to the history of a land that has always seemed covered by the shroud of mysticism and mystery. The author leaves no stone unturned and I have flipped to the final page with a wealth of knowledge about the country of my ancestors that I will carry through my days! Highly recommend to any wanting to know more about this unmatched country!
statman's review against another edition
3.0
I'm taking a trip to Scotland later this year and got this book to learn more about the area before going there. This was a fascinating book and the Scottish history, while kind of a sad one, has a lot of interesting stories. The author starts from the very beginning with the geologic history that led to the formation of the Scottish isles and carries the history to the present day. I found myself wanting to know more and finally realized that because the book was written by a Scottish man, he makes assumptions about what you know and then builds off those base assumptions. For someone who knew nothing about Scotland I found him saying "Of course everyone knows this" and I didn't know what he was talking about. I can imagine that a book written on US History written by an American would have the same kinds of biases but I've never noticed it before because I am an American. I'm definitely going to have to find some more books to learn more.