Rating: 
Summary: Och! he's a wee bit of a blether
Review: Some of his more dour Scottish readers may very well tell Arthur Herman that he's mixing in a little bit of nonsense here. HOW THE SCOTS INVENTED THE MODERN WORLD is a glowing tribute to the Scots but he does go over the top a bit in giving them credit for more than they actually achieved, and also more than the Scot's ever claimed for themselves. This book however is a serious study of Scotland in the 18th century, particularly the period following the Act of Union with England in 1707 known as the Scottish Enlightenment. THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT is actually the book's UK title but that doesn't mean too much to us here. Far more eye-catching and interesting sounding is the title used for the US edition. This however creates a problem for the author. Its pop-culture sounding theme gives the impression that we will be engaged in competitive national chest-beating such as HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION and comparing lists of who accomplished what as in SPREZZATURA: 50 WAYS ITALIAN GENIUS SHAPED THE WORLD. Here the Scots supposedly not only CREATED OUR WORLD [but also] EVERYTHING IN IT!. Such claims don't allow the book to be taken very seriously but that is exactly how Herman wants it to be read. It's therefore a credit to him that his presentation of the facts and his arguments are good enough to allow him to make his point. If we were to compile lists, one that would show Scottish prowess would be that of great thinkers of the 18th century. Start with Adam Smith, David Hume, Walter Scott, James Watt and Lord Kelvin. There is also John Stuart Mill. Those who were less thinkers and inventors but doers were David Livingstone and Scottish-Americans such as John Muir and Andrew Carnegie. It is the presence of transplanted Scots like Carnegie which underlies one of the authors main points. They are the "true inventors" of "modernity" because they carried their beliefs with them as they settled around the world. Thus the roots of the Western traditions of individualism, democracy, and capitalism can all be traced back to Scotland. It's an interesting argument carried off with much bravado and assured writing on the part of the author. To the extent that he stays away from the stereotypes such as the thrifty, penny-pinching Scot we can be thankful. This is a guid book and as a bairn of the Campbell's of Argyll on my mother's side I am pleased that this book has helped me ken a lot more about Scotland.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book, a little uneven
Review: I found the first half of "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" to be very informative and entertaining. The portraits of Hutcheson, Kames, Hume and Smith were interesting both by themselves and in the way in which the author explained the connections (both personal and intellectual) between these thinkers of the Scottish "Enlightenment." I was convinced that in one sense these Scots really did invent the modern world, or at least the modern mindset. The book weakens, however, as it becomes in the second half a fairly pedestrian retelling of accomplishments of Scotsmen and their descendants. It was refreshing not to read any excessive English-bashing in this account, in fact, it might be the most pro-English book about Scotland I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: A grand title for a book that is so anti-Scottish
Review: This book flatters to deceive. Despite its grand title, rather than offering a new take on Scottish history and culture, it simply repeats tired old prejudices and down-right lies about Scotland's gaelic past. There is no historian who can offer an accurate account of Scotland's history, without having a proper knowledge of her gaelic/celtic heritage, and this author has evidently allowed his prejudices to get the better of him when commenting on the gaelic part of Scotland's history, using far too many quotes by British imperialist agents designed to negate and excuse their attempts at cutural and ethnic genocide.
Rating: 
Summary: Well...maybe
Review: The Scots:
Great education system, undoubtedly great intellectual and scientific history. But did they lose their soul?
Unlike the Irish, they hitched their wagon to the British empire, and gained all the benefits in that Empires golden age. They shared in the industrialisation and the dividends flowing back from that part of the world colored red.
However, where are they now? Their oil revenues keep the UK in funds as it loses its manufacturing base. Is Scotland much more than a province (albeit a distinctive one) of the UK?
Rating:
Summary: Many a Muckle Makes a Mickle!
Review: For any Scotsman (like me), this must prove an enthralling read. The idea of the 'Scotsman on the make' is well established, but imagine what it does to our fluttering national ego to learn that this same 'Scotsman on the make' was actually MAKING the whole modern world and everything in it!!! Heady stuff! But, actually, this is a false pleasure. A similar case could be made for just about every major European country and a few minor ones (Holland,Portugal, and Greece). This makes me wonder about the whole point of having such a book. The writer is apparently an American academic, and with a name like Herman we can't suppose he is one of our long lost clansmen whose ancestors were exiled to the wild and barren New World after 'coming out' in the '45. I therefore suspect the author is being a little manipulative. By overstating his case, raising a few hackles, and puffing up the pride of a little nation that is more susceptible to this kind of pat on the back than most, he knows he's going to shift some books. Maybe he even intends to do a whole series, working his way down to the Baltic States or Iceland. Or maybe he's just trying to ride the Braveheart phenomenon. But remember Scottish Greatness - like the greatness of any European country - didn't occur in a vacuum. Herman recognizes this by concentrating on the 18th and 19th centuries when Scotland had entwined its fate with that of its large neighbour to the South. Rather than stirring up petty, parochial, 'down-with-England' nationalism, therefore, the achievements catalogued in this book should remind readers how beneficial to Scottish greatness the Union with England was. This, more than anything, gave Scotland the stage that its recent upsurge in petty nationalism threatens to take away.
Rating: 
Summary: The Turth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But....
Review: Absolutely fabulous - perfect in every way...
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute Rubbish
Review: Everyone knows that Welsh invented civilisation as we know it. Go Rangers!!!!
Rating:
Summary: re greenrug's review
Review: suggest that greenrug look up the word EPISCOPAL and ANGLICAN in an Oxford English Dictionary.
Rating:
Summary: Honest to God
Review: Actually, the "Episcopal Church of Scotland" .... is the name for the Anglican Church in Scotland. Don't let a misapprehension turn you off!
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: This book may do for the Scots what Thomas Cahill did for the Irish when he wrote "How the Irish Saved Western Civilization." It's a highly readable and impressive piece of scholarship on an aspect of history that's been overlooked or ignored: How much our modern culture owes to the people of Scotland. It neatly manages to celebrate the Scottish achievement without veering into any kind of ethnic chauvinism. The author, incidentally, is not Scottish--he's merely a historian and a storyteller, telling us something we probably haven't heard before. People of Scottish ancestry will love this book, but so will anyone who enjoys learning about how we became who we are.
| 
