Scottish History for Dummies

By: William Knox PhD

Narrated by: Matthew Waterson

Want to discover how a small country on the edge of Northern Europe packs an almighty historical punch? Scottish History for Dummies is your guide to the story of Scotland and its place within the historical narratives of Britain, Europe, and the rest of the world. You'll find out how Scotland rose from the ashes to forge its own destiny, understand the impact of Scottish historical figures such as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and David Hume and be introduced to the wonderful world of Celtic religion, architecture, and monuments.

History can help us make connections with people and events, and it gives us an understanding of why the world is like it is today. Scottish History for Dummies pulls back the curtain on how the story of Scotland has shaped the world far beyond its borders. From its turbulent past to the present day, this informative guide sheds a new and timely light on the story of Scotland and its people.

If you're a lifelong learner looking for a fun, factual exploration of the grand scope of Scotland or a traveler wanting to make the most of your trip to this captivating country, Scottish History for Dummies has you covered.

©2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (P)2019 Tantor

A disjointed view lacking gravitas. Accurate enough though.

The murderous pronunciation of Scottish family and place names is agony on the ears. Tedious in parts if not a total drudge, too light-hearted for me.

Educational and entertaining.

This is a very well done history of Scotland for the average reader. Lots of great detail, written and narrated in an interesting and humorous way. Highly recommend.

Easy to understand, amazing details

I really enjoyed listening, I feel much more aware of the strength and intelligence of the Scottish people. I can’t wait to get there in a month to meet some of them.

Lost in detail

The author sets out to give the listener a memorable read with attention to salient facts of Scottish history. The audio book bogs down in the details with a blithering array of characters and facts. My suggestion would be to pair this down to the most important characters and stories. There are fascinating details, pearls ,located within the verbal barrage of this book. I am happy that I listened to the book but it was an experience that could have been much more memorable.

Great subject doesn’t translate to audiobook well

This is an example of a book that is in my opinion better read than listened to. Way too many specific details that are hard to follow in audio version.

Scottish history with no Scottish narrator :(

There was good information, but a huge missed opportunity to highlight a Scottish narrator existed.

Good despite the annoying mispronounciations

The subject matter and how it is told is fine. I didn't mind the English accent but what I did mind was the constant mispronounciations of Scottish place names and occasionally persons names. Every time it happened I missed the next few sentences thinking about it. It was so prevalent and happened with even the most famous places that it almost seemed a deliberate ploy to dig at Scottish people.

I found out I'm 44% Scottish and wanted to learn about Scottish history - what a troubled nation it was!

The narrator was fantastic! But it got very laborious listening about all the political parties. I would rather have learned about the people and how they lived and not the boring political science. But the final chapters on the not so famous Scottish people who had a real impact in the world and all the inventions the Scottish people invented was magnificent!