Book description
So what have the Scots ever done for the world then? Well, most people
will know about John Logie Baird (inventor of television), Alexander
Graham Bell (the telephone) and Alexander Fleming (penicillin). But what
about Alexander Cummings from Edinburgh? It would be hard to imagine
getting through the day without using his invention - the flushing
toilet. Or how about William Cullen from Glasgow? There would be a lot
of sour milk (and warm beer) without the first man to demonstrate
artificial refrigeration. And then there's Alexander Bain from
Caithness? Can anyone really imagine a world without his invention - the
fax machine? The list goes on and on; Janet Keillor from Dundee
(marmalade), James Clerk Maxwell from Edinburgh (radio waves), John
Reith from Stonehaven (the BBC), James Black from Uddingston
(beta-blockers) James Bowman Lindsay from Angus (light bulbs), James
Goodfellow from Paisley (the ATM), Dugald Clerk from Glasgow (the
two-stroke engine), Alexander McRae from the Kyle of Lochalsh (speedos),
James Blyth from Kincardineshire (the first electricity producing wind
turbine). Caledonia Dreaming tells the often frankly unbelievable
stories behind these discoveries and looks at how they, along with the
writers, philosophers, philanthropists and bankers of Scotland have left
their unique, indelible mark on the modern world. John KV Eunson was
born in Shetland where he lived until moving to the mainland to study at
the University of Edinburgh. John has spent most of his working life in
bookselling and publishing but can also shear a sheep in just under
twenty minutes, which provided the inspiration for his first book Sheep
For Beginners published in 2005. He still hopes to write the sequel
Sheep For Intermediates sometime in the future. His other books include
Caledonication: A History Of Scotland With Jokes and Crabbit Old
Buggers. John lives in Edinburgh and would be delighted to present a TV
programme on Scottish history, but doesn't really have the hair for it.
