Book description
 Here, guided by Jim Wilson's researches into Scottish genetic
history, he (Alistair Moffat) tackles on the of the biggest stories
possible: linking up the story of the earliest Scots to the earliest
men... He is wonderfully able to communicate the epic elements of the
story Â- which matters because that's precisely what man's survival
has been' - David Robinson, The Scotsman  I've been enjoyably
immersed in it since it arrived on my doorstep last week...wonderfully
readable. This is no dry, academic account, but it's the most
fascinating and thought-provoking treatment of interlocking aspects of
our early history I've yet to read. I recommend it whole-heartedly' -
Colin Will, poet and publisher  Alistair Moffat explores the history
of where we all came from, with the help of new DNA science' - BBC
Radio Scotland  In The Scots: A Genetic Journey, historian and
broadcaster Alistair Moffat taps into the latest advances in DNA
science to find that our origins lie not only deep in the mists of
time, but right off the map... with the help of historical geneticist
Jim Wilson, he finds that, post-Ice Age, Scotland's earliest settlers
walked here from what is now Spain' - Jim Gilchrist, Scotsman  In The
Scots: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat and James F. Wilson explore
the history that is printed in our genes, and in a remarkable new
approach come to some fascinating conclusions about who we are and
where we came from' - The Orcadian  The fusion of science and the
physical history Â- like an abandoned croft Â- allows people to trace
their Scots ancestry with precision' - Sunday Herald  The Scots: A
Genetic Journey, a book and radio series based on Moffat and Wilson's
research, concludes that all Scots are immigrants by descent. Britain
as a whole is a mongrel nation' - Julian Baggini  Skillfully written,
weaving together genetics, archaeology, history, and topics of
interest like red hair  - James Honeychuck on Amazon History has
always mattered to Scots, and rarely more so than now at the outset of
a new century, with a new census appearing in 2011 and after more than
ten years of a new parliament. An almost limitless archive of our
history lies hidden inside our bodies and we carry the ancient story
of Scotland around with us. The mushrooming of genetic studies, of DNA
analysis, is rewriting our history in spectacular fashion. In The
Scots: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat explores the history that is
printed on our genes, and in a remarkable new approach, uncovers the
detail of where we are from, who we are and in so doing colour vividly
a DNA map of Scotland.
Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former
Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at
Scottish Television, he now runs the burgeoning Borders Book Festival as
well as a production company based near Selkirk. He has written six
previous books that are published by Birlinn. Dr James F. Wilson is a
population geneticist. His DPhil is from the University of Oxford where
his initial studies with Professor David Goldstein led to the
identification of the first genetic signatures of Norse Viking ancestry
in the British Isles. This led to the BBC series 'Blood of the Vikings',
which traced the legacy of the Vikings in the British Isles through a
genetics survey. A keen genealogist, Jim is a native of Orkney but also
has roots in Shetland.
