Author:Michael Lynch
From Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce to the union of the crowns and Mary, Queen of Scots; from the Reformation and John Knox, to the Enlightenment and the Highland Clearances, and right up to devolution, Scotland is the definitive history of a country that has experienced centuries of dramatic change.
Michael Lynch, named as 'one of the most influential historians in Scotland of the last thirty years', has penned an extraordinary one-volume history of the country that spans twenty centuries, from the Picts to the present day.
Thrilling, comprehensive, provocative and timely, Scotland is a monumental work of scholarship.
It's a book that seems more like a multi-volume history, so sweeping is it; yet lucid and captivating even in detailed areas... Fundamental to Lynch's approach is a sense of connection between now and then, however far back; he continuously shows how Scottish identity refashions its heroes and myths, yet clings to survival
—— Douglas GiffordA monumental achievement
—— Times Literary SupplementBreathtaking and absorbing
—— Scottish FieldFascinating...it ought to be compulsory reading for all MPs, journalists and commentators before they were permitted to talk about European economic and political union
—— Tom Wilkie , IndependentA great swirling devil of a book and it is equal in every way to its vast subject - the black and white country of the heart
—— Don DeLilloA magnificent book, an explosion of truth-telling
—— Times Literary SupplementUnusual, vivid, raw and revealing
—— Donald Woods , Sunday TimesMany books are called "searing". This one really is. Rian Malan, a journalist of solid Afrikaner stock, explores deeper into the darkness of late apartheid South Africa than any other writer
—— EconomistIncludes all of Charlotte's know how and insider tricks into a book, (this is the) ultimate go to guide on how to care for this type of hair
—— Hello MagazineA long overdue bible on textured and curly hair (...) Good Hair begins with the history and sacredness of the afro hairstyle, the part it played in the Black Power Movement and Mensah's own story'
—— Psychologies MagazineToby Green's transformative book repositions West African history in an entirely new light. It brings into focus the region's fundamental place in shaping the modern world as well as the powerful and also difficult legacy of this today.
—— Paul Reid, Director, Black Cultural ArchivesVery seldom do I pick up a history book and wish I had written it myself. Toby Green's A Fistful of Shells is one such book. Brilliantly conceptualized, beautifully written, it breaks with colonially configured regional boundaries - which work to re-create unintended silos of knowledge - to imagine a West and West Central African Atlantic history of money, power, religion, and inequality that is as rich as it is sound.
—— Professor Nwando Achebe, Michigan State UniversityThis book represents an extraordinary and admirable archival and bibliographic undertaking.
—— Times Literary SupplementA vital book that offers us new, complex narratives to view African countries and their relationships to Europe and the Global North. Faloyin's stylish, propulsive prose blends history, memoir and opinion, so that reading him has the impression of being at the knee of a great storyteller.
—— Jonathan Nunn, editor of VittlesDemonstrates how that old saying - "this time is different" - is both so true and so wrong!
—— Lord Stephen Green , former CEO and Chairman of HSBC and UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment, 2011-2013Crashes are an integral part of the history of capitalism. The last century has seen plenty of them. All crashes begin with debt-fuelled euphoria and end in disappointment. Yet how bad that disappointment turns out to be also depends on where in the economy the crash falls and how determined and credible are the responses. In this lively and blessedly brief book, Linda Yueh does a lovely job of explaining the history and drawing the necessary lessons
—— Martin Wolf , Chief Economics Commentator, Financial TimesThis excellent overview identifies the ingredients that are specific to each crisis and common to all. She provides a lucid assessment of the efficacy of policy responses, high-lighting credibility as a necessary condition for successful resolution
—— Lord Nick McPherson, , former Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury, 2005-2016, and Chairman of C. Hoare & Co."Why did nobody notice?" Was the question the Queen asked about the 2008 financial crisis. It was a good question. All financial crises and crashes have their own characteristics but they also often involve certain common features:- Irrational exuberance, Speculative frenzy, Greed and over confidence usually supported by high levels of gearing.
Linda Yueh's new book will be a timely reminder to governments and regulators of the warning signs of future crises
Timely, entertaining and full of useful insights
—— Gideon Rachman , Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial TimesRenowned economist Dr Linda Yueh looks at past financial crashes - from the Wall Street Crash to the dot com boom and bust and the Covid pandemic - to explore what we can learn from them in this entertainingly written book.
—— i, Best New Books in MayEntertaining, well-written . . . [Yueh] has come up with a three-step framework to help spot when financial problems are brewing and identifies where the next may occur.
—— Ben Wright , TelegraphA gifted writer (een begenadigd schrijver)
—— De Telegraaf