Independence or Union: Scotland's Past and Scotland's Present - Hardcover

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T. M. Devine has written three books for Penguin: The Scottish Nation, Scotland's Empire and To the Ends of the Earth. He is Sir William Fraser Professor Emeritus of Scottish History and Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh; a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Devine is the only historian to have been awarded the Royal Medal, Scotland's supreme academic accolade, by HM The Queen. In 2014 he was knighted for services to the study of Scottish history.

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PRAISE FOR T.M. DEVINE

'The nation's preeminent historian, a towering and fearless intellect ... an academic tornado from early in his career who has reshaped the way the Scottish past is viewed' The Herald

'If you are after answers to the big questions of Scottish history, Devine is your man' Niall Ferguson

'Devine is a master of the historian's art' Scotland on Sunday

'A masterly breadth of knowledge' Economist

Aus dem Klappentext

There can be no relationship in Europe's history more creative, significant, vexed and uneasy than that between Scotland and England. For centuries the island of Britain has been shaped by the unique dynamic between Edinburgh and London, exchanging inhabitants, monarchs, money and ideas, sometimes in a spirit of friendship and at others in a spirit of murderous dislike.

This seminal new book by Tom Devine, Scotland's premier historian, explores this extraordinary story in all its ambiguity, from the seventeenth century to the present. He shows that, when not undermining each other with invading armies, both Scotland and England have broadly benefitted from each other's presence - indeed for long periods of time nobody questioned the union which joined them. But as Devine makes clear, this has for the most part been a relationship based on consent, not force, on mutual advantage, rather than antagonism - and it has always held the possibility of a political parting of the ways.

Now, as this potential parting comes under intense scrutiny, and Scotland and England's relationship hangs in the balance, Independence or Union is the book everyone should read to understand the future of the United Kingdom.