READ IN A DAY. REMEMBER FOR A LIFETIME

Scotland is one of the oldest nations in Europe. Its territory remains fundamentally unchanged since the fifteenth century, and its southern border with England has barely altered since 1237. And yet Scotland – a country with a global brand, its own law, education and church – is not a state at all. In The Shortest History of Scotland, Murray Pittock argues that this very ambiguity is what has made the nation a central part of the global story.

From first tribes to devolution, Pittock unpicks the myths from the reality. He explores the glories – real and imagined – of Scottish history, from Robert Bruce to Robert Burns, tartan to paisley, Scott to Sturgeon – and asks what the past can tell us about what lies ahead.