The Scots have always had a reputation for clarity of thought and also for the vigour with which it is put into words.

This collection spans the entire gamut of a nation's recorded thought and experience from Roman Scotland to the present day. It covers a vast range of subject matter and demonstrates a remarkable variety of moods and tones, from the literary to the colloquial and bawdy. Packed with sharp observation and humour, it sounds other notes too. Meditative, triumphant, tragic, accusing, tender - and often hilarious - it reveals the spirit of Scotland in a truly unique way.