How the Scots Invented the Modern World

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Welsh, Irvine (January 19, 2002). "The flowers of Scotland". The Guardian. London. p.E5 . Retrieved September 1, 2009. To be honest, I'm a reader of historical fiction not history per se. But I am such a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series that I bought this book to broaden my understanding of the events in her novels.

How Scotland invented the modern world | Metro News How Scotland invented the modern world | Metro News

Proudman, Mark (December 4, 2004). "Forget the Scots; it was the Royal Navy". The Globe and Mail. p.D5. Regarding the title and thesis, that the people of Scotland invented the modern world, nearly every reviewer commented on it, some calling it "provocative", [14] a "hyperbole", [15] "absurd" and "pandering to prejudice". [13] Secondly, radical and sweeping reforms in Scottish education brought literacy right across the class spectrum. Even lowly crofters and their families were educated and often well-read. University education was similarly founded on rational enquiry which made room for radical thinkers like Adam Smith and David Hume such that a Scottish education became the benchmark of excellence around the world. Starting in the century or so before the Enlightenment period, Herman explains the various factors that led to the Union of 1707. He shows the stranglehold that the Kirk had on Scottish society, but that out of this grew the idea of man as a free individual – that monarchs were not absolute and that tyrannies could and should be challenged. He gives the Kirk the credit for the idea that education should be for all, making Scotland one of the most literate societies in the world, with an appetite for books other than the Bible. And he explains very clearly the impact of the Darien scheme on both the financial state of Scotland and on its self-confidence as a nation. In Herman’s view, the Union was a resoundingly positive development for Scotland, despite its unpopularity amongst ordinary people, since it opened up opportunities and access to the rest of the world via the rapidly developing British Empire, hence revolutionising Scotland both economically and culturally.Although there are a few chapters in this book dedicated to explaining the ideas of the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment, the bulk of the book is an examination of how those ideas spread and changed not just Scotland or the UK but, in Herman’s view, the Western world. As with Herman’s more recent book, The Cave and the Light, this is a hugely readable and enjoyable history – Herman writes in a way that makes his books very accessible to non-academic readers. Historian Arthur Herman has written a comprehensive and well-detailed account of the many ways that notable Scots have had a special influence on world events. Not only is there a ton of information here, but it's written with a skilled and fascinating narrative that holds the reader's attention and interest. In many places, its a work of history that reads like a novel. So many historical fields are covered -- politics, medicine, philosophy, science, and literature, to name a few. The point of this book is that being Scottish turns out to be more than just a matter of nationality or place of origin or clan or even culture. It is also a state of mind, a way of viewing the world and our place in it. . . . This is the story of how the Scots created the basic idea of modernity. It will show how that idea transformed their own culture and society in the eighteenth century, and how they carried it with them wherever they went. Obviously, the Scots did not do everything by themselves: other nations—Germans, French, English, Italians, Russians, and many others—have their place in the making of the modern world. But it is the Scots more than anyone else who have created the lens through which we see the final product. When we gaze out on a contemporary world shaped by technology, capitalism, and modern democracy, and struggle to find our place as individuals in it, we are in effect viewing the world as the Scots did. . . . The story of Scotland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is one of hard-earned triumph and heart-rending tragedy, spilled blood and ruined lives, as well as of great achievement.”

How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story… How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story…

How the Scots Invented the Modern Worldreveals how Scottish genius for creating the basic ideas and institutions of modern life stamped the lives of a series of remarkable historical figures, from James Watt and Adam Smith to Andrew Carnegie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and how Scottish heroes continue to inspire our contemporary culture, from William “Braveheart” Wallace to James Bond. How the Scots ..." is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I've read in a long time. "Huh? How," you ask, "can history be interesting?!" Not every author can make it interesting, for certain. But here's how to come up with such a winner, Arthur Herman-style:A well-written and complete history that connects both the history, the minds, the movers and shakers, and the conflicts in Scotland from the 1600s to the 1900s with references to earlier times included for perspective. The first three quarters of this book are absolutely amazing, showing how the Scottish Enlightenment period essentially created all modern political and philosophical teachings in the modernized world. Most Scottish people are familiar with the poem, Wha's Like Us, which lists many Scottish inventions and innovations. Link here : http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/whaslike... This book covers about 5 centuries of Scottish history. I was most interested in the description of education in Scotland. I was unaware that Scotland provided universal education for children long before Britain did. I would argue that this is what led to the flourishing of creativity and invention. I would critique the author is this respect as readers could be left with the idea the Scots are superior as a "race" or ethnic group, rather than considering the factors that enabled people of this nation to achieve their potential. At the same time, as critically important as the availability of education, including universities to virtually everyone, there seem to be some cultural values, such as perseverance and a strong work ethic, that came together to allow this flourishing of genius. The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 ISBN 978-1328595904