No Gods and Precious Few Heroes ― Twentieth-Century Scotland, 1900-2015

Epitomised by political, social and technological change, this narrative looks back over the century since the outbreak of World War I up to the 21st century politics of devolution and the age of the internet. The book begins with the devastating impact of World War I and Scotland's critical role in its conduct. There follow parallel chapters on Scots institutional life, from 1922 to 1964, governed by the problems of economy, society, politics and culture in a heavy industrial state with economic problems and governmental deficits. Two further chapters cover the period from 1964 to 1999, including the challenge of new industries and oil discoveries, and the rise of devolutionary and nationalist politics.

A new section on the course of devolved politics, from the Scottish parliament of 1999 to the financial collapse of 2008 and the constitutional upheavals of 2014-15, rounds off this unique interpretation of a century of Scottish life from an author who could be considered one of our most multi-faceted and long-sighted historians.

Christopher Harvie, Professor of British and Irish Studies at the University of Tubingen, has written extensively on UK and Scottish history. A founder-historian at the Open University, 1969-80, he is the author of over 16 books, includingThe Lights of Liberalism (1976), Scotland and Nationalism (1977),The Rise of Regional Europe (1994), Nineteenth-Century Britain (2000), and Scotland: A Short History (2014). He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament, 2007-11.