Product Description

Thirty-five thousand people from across the world volunteered to join the armed resistance in a war on fascism. More people, proportionately, went from Scotland than any other country, and the entire nation was gripped by the conflict. What drove so many ordinary Scots to volunteer for a foreign war? Their stories are powerfully and honestly told, often in their own words: the ordinary men and women who made their way to Spain over the Pyrenees when the UK government banned anyone from going to support either side; the nurses and ambulance personnel who discovered for themselves the horrors of modern warfare; and the people back home who defied their poverty to give generously to the Spanish republican cause. Even in war there are light-hearted moments: a Scottish volunteer drunkenly urinating in his general s boots, enduring the dark comedy of learning to shoot with sticks amidst a scarcity of rifles, or enjoying the surreal experience of raising a dram with Errol Flynn. They went from all over the country: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Fife and the Highlands, and they fought to save Scotland, and the world, from the growing threat of fascism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16985 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
Daniel Gray has done a marvellous job in bringing together the stories of Scots volunteers....in [this] many-voiced, multi-layered book --Scotland on Sunday

...moving and thought-provoking. --The Herald

'Important and powerful' --Tony Benn

He can write- his prose is unfussy, fluent and warm, Best of all, he has squared the circle of producing accurate histroy while retaining a deep respect for the men and women who people it.

Daniel Gray has written a deeply human history, moving and thought-provoking, not only of those 549 people, but of two nations- Scotland and Spain- battling with an evil that would soon darken the whole of Europe. --The Herald- Saturday 17th January, 2009

This is the latest addition to a line of excellent books published over the last couple of years-- Morning Star- 28th December, 2008

Gray brings the dramatic events of the period so vividly alive...

Rigorous, well-written and entertaining... -- Holyrood Magazine, 23rd February, 2009

Gray deserves applause for shining a light on a lesser-known aspect of the nations' characters of which we should all be proud --Press and Journal

About the Author
Daniel Gray graduated with a politics and history degree from Newcastle University where he focussed in particular on foreign intervention in the Spanish civil war. Daniel has researched Scotland s role in the Spanish Civil War since 2006, and lectured throughout Scotland on the topic. He has also written on the topic for Discover magazine and the Scotsman. He is currently employed as an archivist in the National Library of Scotland, working on 19th century literary manuscripts contained within the John Murray Archive and lives in Edinburgh.

Customer Reviews

Interesting, powerful and moving: a vital read
Daniel Gray's new book truly is a tour de force and is by far the best book that I have read about Scotland's involvement in the Spanish Civil War.

With a foreword by Socialist stalwart Tony Benn, I found "Homage to Caledonia" to be a real page-turner. Gray does a fantastic job and tells a fascinating story of ordinary men and women travelling abroad to fight the fascists in the name of freedom, democracy and Socialism.

I wholeheartedly recommend you buy this book, either for yourself or a loved one.

Fascinating, well-written and moving.
I loved this book. Very well researched and readable history book. Daniel Gray tells a powerful and moving story (that I haven't heard told before) in rich and well-constructed prose.

Anyone with an interest in the Spanish civil war, Scottish history, Socialism or any kind of social and political history will love this book.

I really can't recommend it enough.

I might want to borrow this!
I bought this book as a Christmas present for a friend so I haven't read it myself but the person I bought it for thoroughly enjoyed it.