Product Description

In 1696, on an unseasonably cold August evening, Thomas Aikenhead joked to friends as they hurried through Edinburgh's wind-blown streets that he would rather be in 'hell, to warm myself there.' The young theology student would pay for this remark with his life. Yet within one hundred years, the nation that began the eighteenth century dominated by the harsh and repressive Scottish Kirk had evolved into Europe's most literate society, producing an idea of modernity that has shaped much of civilisation as we know it.

Arthur Herman argues that Scotland's turbulent history, from William Wallace to the Presbyterian Lords of the Covenant, laid the foundations for 'the Scottish miracle'. Harsh economic reality compelled Scotland into the act of Union with England in 1707, a move considered by many Scots at the time to sound the death-knell for their country and its culture. Within decades, however, a remarkable circle of Scottish thinkers, including David Hume and Adam Smith, gave birth to the key assumptions that underlie modern politics, economics, morals and cultural life. The Scots went on to become the mainstays of the British Empire, infusing this system of exploitation with a spirit of co-operation. Emigration to America brought inspiration for the American Revolution, and ultimately, towering figures such as Alexander Carnegie and Alexander Graham Bell fuelled the rise of America's capitalist democracy. Written with wit, erudition and clarity, The Scottish Enlightenment traces the pervasive influence of a nation and its people to claim their rightful place in the history of the western world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30476 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 454 pages

Irvine Welsh, Guardian, January 20, 2002
Scotland now has the lively, provocative and positive history it deserves.

Synopsis
This work presents the history of how Scotland produced the institutions, beliefs and human character that have made the West into the most powerful culture in the world. Within one hundred years, the nation that began the 18th century dominated by the harsh and repressive Scottish Kirk had evolved into Europe's most literate society, producing an idea of modernity that has shaped much of civilisation as we know it. Arthur Herman argues that Scotland's turbulent history, from William Wallace to the Presbyterian Lords of the Covenant, laid the foundations for "the Scottish miracle". He follows the lives and work of thinkers such as Adam Smith and David Hume, writers such as Burns and Boswell, as well as architects, technicians and inventors, and traces their legacy into the 20th century.

About the Author
Arthur Herman received his Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University. He has been professor of history at both George Mason and Georgetown Universities and is now Co-ordinator at the Smithsonian's Western Heritage Programme. His books include The Idea of Decline in Western History.

Customer Reviews

Promised so much, delivered much less
I am betwext and between with this book for the "Scottish Enlightenment" is one of my favourite periods in Scottish history. As with a previous reviewer most of my school education was in British history. However, unlike the reviewer concerned, I do not regard it as solely "English History".

This book is a good romp through a relatively unknown period, even to Scots, of Scottish history. It begins with the Reformation in Scotland (itself a complex process) and ends with contemporary Scotland (a nation still burdened by the myths of its history). Herman's book is broad brush history, rather than detailed, but even at this it is lacking.

Pre and post Union politics in Scotland was complex, with two cultures Lowland and Highland living uneasily side by side. Relations within the new Union were tense at times too. However, recognising this should lead readers to more specific works on this period.

The author's description of the Church in Scotland is one sided. Yes, it was harsh, repressive, authoritarian, and sometimes cruel by 21st century eyes, but so was the Anglican Church at the time - and most others too. The author passes over the "Scottish Moderates" a group of ministers within the Church of Scotland that embraced the social, cultural, and scientific achievements of the culture of the time.

A minor point is some of the historical detail is wrong, and this is sloppy. OK, only an anorak who is interested in the history of the Royal Navy would know that HMS Dreadnought was not built on the Clyde in 1902, but at Portsmouth in 1905-1906. It is a minor detail, but in historical works detail is important to the weight the work carries.

I do not agree with one reviewer who said this book should be in every Scottish classroom. There are better writers on Scottish history and this period such as Smout, Daiches, Fry, and Devine to name four. Herman's book is a good read and romp through an important era in Scottish history, but no more.

Informative and Fun
What a fun book this turned out to be. This book was a classic case of picking a book off the history shelf in a library and dubiously reading the first few pages to get an idea of what it was about. Im glad I did.

I will not claim to have an indepth understanding about political theories of the 18th century. This book in many respects was introducing me to many of them for the first time. However, it did so in an accessible and trully interesting manner. It starts its narrative in the years just before the Act of Union in 1707. It ends towards the end of the 19th century. The ideas and those behind them are described well. The book avoids what many others do in overloading a general reader with jargon.

What I loved most about this book was the colour that the author injected when describing the personality of the key figures of the enlightenment. One particularly amusing story is David Hume trapped in a swamp and a passer by will only help him if he recants his athiesm. The author also describes that most of the key figures lift so close together in 'Auld Reekie' that they could shout to one another from their houses. Political and philosophical discussion was also washed down with generous helpings of booze as well!

The only criticism I have of the book is that it does give the impression that Scots were falling only short of God in creating the modern world. How far his assumptions are correct can be left to another reviewer.

All in all it is a fun book brining the world of 18th Century culture to life (particularly in Edinburgh and Glasgow) and along the way educating this lowly reader in the theories they created. The author also in a step by step manner shows how these theories found practical application in the wider world.

Im not a bonifide expert but going by this book, 18th century Edinburgh and Glasgow were far from being perfect - but by hec you would never be bored. Once you've read this book you will be upset to leave the company of such fascinating thinkers the author so vividly brings to life.

Herman does not know Scotland
A foolish Scotsman might be flattered by being by being handed Hermans poisoned chalice, but personally I want no part in his invention of the modern world. He goes seriously wrong in his references to the highlands and Gaelic culture in what seems to be an attempt to justify and rationalise the conditions which were imposed on the Highlands at the time and indeed they are not consistent with any form of enlightenment. He begins his section on the Highlands by asserting that the Gaels were basically bandits who crossed over from Ireland. No mention that these 'bandits' included a good many saints and enlightened individuals who were able to establish themselves without struggle and that this was the very culture that went on to establish the nation. Indeed the 'bandits' brought the stone of destiny to Scotland, later stolen...but I digress...ask Herman to look it up. All this in a time ironically known to historians like Herman as the dark ages. From that false start he goes on to cherry-pick a number of anecdotes to plump out his dim picture, and states that the highlands could not support the population of highlanders. Wrong - the highlands could but they could not support the aspirations of the newly 'enlightened' classes just the lay of the land could not support their systems.

Since this section of his book was so sketchy and clearly biased I saw no reason to read the rest. Real historians acknowledge the truth. Hermans two-dimensional picture reveals him as a cultural chauvanist and therefore more of a propagandist than a historian.