Scotland

"Modern Scottish History: 1707 to the Present" was published in five volumes in 1995 as a collaboration between the University of Dundee and the Open University in Scotland. Written by leading academics for the Distance Learning course run by the two universities, the series is aimed also at a wide readership - anyone with a serious interest in Scottish history - and presents the fruits of the latest research in a readable style. The volumes can be read singly, or as a series. Now come the first two volumes of a further five-volume series, "Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1700", due for completion in 2007: the 300th anniversary of the parliamentary union of Scotland with England. The aim, however, is to show also the importance of Scottish relationships and involvement in a broader European story, as well as to dispel long-established myths and preconceptions about the Scottish past which still exert a firm grip on general opinion. Especially in a post-devolution era, Scottish history and Scotland deserve better than this. A word about the title of the new series, "Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation".It is certainly designed to provoke but need not be taken to indicate a nationalist view of 1707 as a moment of eclipse. Scotland's history, like all histories, resists simple generalisations. Were it otherwise, its study would not be so rewarding.