A People's History of Scotland

This corrective history of Scotland reveals the little-told stories of freedom fighters and suffragettes—offering a passionate case for Scottish Independence.

A People’s History of Scotland looks beyond the kings and queens, the battles and bloody defeats of the past. It captures the history that matters today—stories of freedom fighters, suffragettes, the workers of Red Clydeside, and the hardship and protest of the treacherous Thatcher era.

With riveting storytelling, Chris Bambery recounts the struggles for nationhood. He charts the lives of Scots who changed the world, as well as those who fought for the cause of ordinary people at home, from the poets Robbie Burns and Hugh MacDiarmid to campaigners such as John Maclean and Helen Crawfurd.

This is a passionate cry for more than just independence but also for a nation
based on social justice.“Splendid … The careful social and economic analysis in A People’s History of Scotland offers a close reading of the rise and fall of industry and mining, resulting in consequences which were scarcely cheerful.”
—Paul Buhle, Monthly Review

“Offers a Scottish version of E. P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class.”
—Scotsman"

“Readable, committed and making excellent use of poetry and song to illustrate the fight for social justice across the centuries, Bambery’s book is as concerned with Scotland’s future as with its past. It should be welcomed by everyone involved today in building on the historical struggles for freedom.”
—Neil Davidson, author of Discovering the Scottish RevolutionChris Bambery is a writer, broadcaster, TV producer and founding member of the International Socialist Group in Scotland. For many years he was the Secretary of the British Socialist Worker Party. He is the author of Scotland: Class and Nation (1999), A Rebel's Guide to Gramsci (2006), The Second World War: A Marxist History (2013).