Book description
SPECTATOR, NEW STATESMAN, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY and THE HERALD BOOKS
OF THE YEAR
The Scots are one of the world's greatest nations of emigrants. For
centuries, untold numbers of men, women and children have sought their
fortunes in every conceivable walk of life and in every imaginable
climate across the British Empire, the United States and elsewhere,
from finance to industry, philosophy to politics.
To the Ends of the Earth puts this extraordinary epic centre
stage, taking many famous stories and removing layers of myth and
sentiment to reveal the no less startling truth, paying particular
attention to the exceptional Scottish role as traders, missionaries
and soldiers. This major new book is also a study of the impact of
this global world on Scotland itself and the degree to which the
Scottish economy was for many years an imperial economy, with
intimate, important links through shipping, engineering, jute and
banking to the most remote of settlements.
Filled with fascinating stories and with an acute awareness of the
poverty and social inequality that provoked so much emigration, To
the Ends of the Earth will make its readers think about the
world in quite a different way.
T. M. Devine is the author of the bestselling
The Scottish Nation, 1700-2007
. He is the Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and
Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the Scottish
Centre for Diaspora Studies. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2001, Professor Devine was awarded
the Royal Gold Medal, Scotland's supreme academic accolade.
