Chris Bamberry: A People's History Of Scotland

In September 2014, the people of Scotland will decide whether—after 407 years of British rule—they want to be an independent country. Chris Bambery seizes the opportunity to delve into the real and oft-forgotten history of Scotland.

A People’s History of Scotland is a corrective to the usual history of kings and queens, victorious battles and bloody defeats. Rather it tells the story that matters today—the story of freedom fighters, suffragettes, the workers of Red Clydesdale who fought for their rights and the contemporary struggle for independence. It looks at the struggles for nationhood as well as for a socialist future, while also charting the lives of Scots who changed the world: from the real Macbeth to the father of modern capitalism, Adam Smith, as well as campaigner Mary Brooksbank. This is a passionate cry for more than just independence but also for a nation that has deep socialist roots.

CHRIS BAMBERY is a writer, broadcaster, TV producer and founding member of the International Socialist Group in Scotland. For many years he was the Secretary of the British Socialist Workers Party. He is the author of Scotland: Class and Nation (1999), A Rebel’s Guide to Gramsci (2006) and The Second World War: A Marxist History (2013).