To the Ends of the Earth

Oct 5, 2024 6:50 PM

Author:T. M. Devine

Part of his trilogy on Scottish history, T. M. Devine's To the Ends of the Earth is a compelling account of the Scots as a 'global people', charting their forgotten role in the building of the modern world.

The Scots are one of the world's greatest nations of emigrants. For centuries, untold numbers of men, women and children sought their fortunes in every part of the globe, from the British Empire to the United States, in cities and on prairie farms, as traders, bankers, missionaries, soldiers, politicians and engineers.

With To the Ends of the Earth T.M. Devine - acclaimed author of The Scottish Nation and Scotland's Empire - puts this extraordinary epic centre stage in Scottish history, cutting through myth and sentiment surrounding stories such as the Highland Clearances and the Enlightenment to show the true impact of Scottish emigration on the world, and on the nation it left behind.

'A seminal work'

   Harry McGrath, Herald

'Devine's final book in a remarkable trilogy ... fascinating and far-reaching ... His conclusions are ... thoughtful and incisive'

   Scottish Field

'[This] rigorous and unsentimental history of Scotland's global diaspora ... explodes myths and foregrounds the prosaic realities of emigration ... it has the fascinating charm of a detective story'

   Guardian

'Presents a grand overview of Scottish emigration ... very revealing'

   Tom Nairn, Scottish Review of Books

'Devine has brought a greater understanding to this fascinating subject and offers an intriguing perspective on a key component of our history and national identity'

   Alex Salmond, First Minister Of Scotland, Herald

T.M. Devine,OBE is University Research Professor and Director of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen. His other books include The Scottish Nation and To the Ends of the Earth.

Reviews

A seminal work ... a new iconoclasm which is welcome given the tosh that sometimes passes for knowledge on the subject of the Scottish diaspora. Commendably, Devine is not afraid to name and shame ... [he] has a rare gift for detecting contradictions

—— Harry McGrath , Herald

Devine's final book in a remarkable trilogy ... fascinating and far-reaching ... His conclusions are as thoughtful and incisive as you'd expect from an academic who has established himself as one of the deepest thinkers on Scottish identity and history, and whose books remain staggeringly popular

—— Scottish Field

[This] rigorous and unsentimental history of Scotland's global diaspora ... explodes myths and foregrounds the prosaic realities of emigration ... it has the fascinating charm of a detective story

—— Guardian

Presents a grand overview of Scottish emigration ... very revealing ... an example of why To the Ends of the Earth is so timely [is that] it helps define the real landscape of choice and decision that is now presenting itself more plainly since the last Scottish election

—— Tom Nairn , Scottish Review of Books

Sharply written ... Devine is an admirable historian, acerbic in judgment, and a pleasure to read ... fill[s] a serious gap left by the tendency of imperial historians to dwell on the political and capital power wielded in Westminster and the City of London

—— Spectator

Devine has brought a greater understanding to this fascinating subject and offers an intriguing perspective on a key component of our history and national identity

—— Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland , Herald

Figes has achieved something extraordinary ... the gulag story lacks individuals for us to sympathise with: a Primo Levi, an Anne Frank or even an Oskar Schindler. Just Send Me Word may well be the book to change that ... the kind of love that most of us can only dream of

—— Oliver Bullough , Independent

Remarkable ... Figes, selecting and then interpreting this mass of letters, makes them tell two kinds of story. The first is a uniquely detailed narrative of the gulag, of the callous, slatternly universe which consumed millions of lives ... The second is about two people determined not to lose each other

—— Neal Ascherson , Guardian

A quiet, moving and memorable account of life in a totalitarian state ... The book often reads like a novel ... captivating

—— Evening Standard

Orlando Figes has wrought something beautiful from dark times

—— Ian Thomson , Observer

A heart-rending record of extraordinary human endurance

—— Kirkus Reviews

[A] remarkable tale of love and devotion during the worst years of the USSR ... [Figes's] fine narrative pacing enhances this moving, memorable story

—— Publishers Weekly

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