What became known as the Great War began on 4th August 1914. It triggered a wave of patriotism. Scotland led the way with 320,589 men voluntarily enlisting before conscription began in 1916. Scots were in the forefront of many of the costliest battles and campaigns with the outcome that, per head of population, it is estimated by the University of Edinburgh that Scotland lost more men than all the belligerent nations apart from Turkey and Serbia. Anyone with a German sounding accent soon came under suspicion of being a spy. Railways were taken under government control and local businesses asked to supply motor vehicles for use by the Army or to supply horses, of which hundreds of thousands died during the conflict. 'Young men belonging to Edinburgh and the East of Scotland may enrol in the Edinburgh Battalion which is now being formed. All young men in the professional and commercial classes, university graduates, clerks, warehousemen, skilled artisans and athletes (between the ages of 19 and 35 inclusive), who are medically fit and whose height is 5ft 3" and upwards, with chest measurements of 34" at least, are invited to enrol their names now, and those of any friends who may wish to drill and train in the same battalion.' This book covers the historic city's involvement to the armistice in November 1914, describing in great detail what happened to the city and its people, their everyday lives, entertainment, spies and the internment of aliens living within the city. Edinburgh played a key role in supplying not only men but vital munitions and a role in caring for the many wounded soldiers returning from the Front. Of poor quality but nevertheless very interesting are dozens of archive photographs, including a procession of little girls in white dresses and tartan sashes parading along Princes Street carrying banners stating 'We are doing our little bit', a picture of the arrival of Christmas puddings at the Front, and a Shetland pony to be sold for the Red Cross, a sports day for wounded soldiers and the visiting American Ambassador. 141pp, large softback.

Hostile takeovers, government-sanctioned killing, extortion and the seedier side of publishing, this is a novel with an ingenious twist and turn. Sir Robert Skinner's stock is rising. After retiring from the police service he's been promoted to head an international media organisation, yet a series of unexplained deaths on his home turf in Scotland threaten to bring him crashing back down to earth. As Skinner helps the elderly in his local community, several residents seem to die of unnatural causes, but when a gruesome discovery is made in a Glasgow flat and one of Skinner's long-time friends, an aspiring politician, emerges as the prime suspect, things become very murky indeed. After unpicking clues that go nowhere, Skinner and his team are left grappling the most baffling conundrum they have ever encountered - is there a mystery at all? Scottish crime writing at its finest with bodies aplenty. 354pp in fairly large print, paperback.

Although also known as the Third English Civil War, the author makes it clear that this was the last war between the Scots and English as separate states. He narrates in detail the events following the exiled King Charles II's landing in Scotland and his alliance with the Scots Covenanters, erstwhile allies of the English Parliamentarians. Cromwell's pre-emptive invasion of Scotland led to the Battle of Dunbar, a crushing defeat for the Scots under David Leslie, though this only unified the Scottish cause and led to the levying of the Army of the Kingdom under Charles II himself. Charles led a desperate counter-invasion over the border, hoping to raise a royalist rebellion and forcing Cromwell to follow him, though he left Monck to complete the pacification of Scotland. Cromwell caught up with Charles II at Worcester in September 1651, where the Scots/Royalist army was decisively defeated and destroyed, thousands of the prisoners being sold into slavery in the West Indies and the American colonies. This revised and updated 2021 edition contains an expanded chapter on the aftermath of the war and the fate of the POWs imprisoned in Durham Castle, and drawing on major new archaeological evidence such as a discovery near Worcester, as well as an expanded Conclusion. B/w illus. and many maps 224 pages.

This collection of early colour photographs of the Scottish coastline comes from the heyday of the picture postcard, driven by the explosion in railway travel and the popularity of Scottish scenery inspired by Queen Victoria's love of the Highlands. These postcards provide a route back into long-vanished townscapes, while the costumes and millinery give us a real insight into fashion and the social life of the time. Starting on the west coast we visit the charming town of Kirkcudbright, a magnet for artists, whose picturesque harbour and sailing ships have long disappeared. Nearby Stranraer is the home of the ferry to Ireland, shown here in 1909 with the last of two paddle steamers to serve the route. Further north, McBrayne's paddle steamer is shown in 1908 entering the canal system at Fort William. In the 19th century Girvan was the embarkation point for emigrants to Canada, and its beaches became a tourist attraction with the arrival of the railway. Campbeltown at the base of the Kintyre peninsula had over 30 distilleries and 600 fishing boats at the start of the 20th century. In 1853, angry locals in Garelochhead blockaded the town's pleasure steamer from an invasion of tourists, while nowadays the town repels invasion as Britain's submarine base. Port Glasgow and Clydebank prospered because of the ships of awesome size built in the docks. On the east coast, Aberdeen has been transformed from a fishing town into a powerhouse of energy supplies. A photo from 1880 shows the partially collapsed Tay Bridge, while further down the east coast, a magnificent photo foregrounds the ferry Forfarshire on the South Queensferry slipway. 132pp, softback, handcoloured postcards on every page.