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. With riveting storytelling, Chris Bambery recountsnbsp;the struggles for nationhood. He charts the lives of Scotsnbsp;who changed the world, as well as those who fought for the cause of ordinarynbsp;people at home, from the poets Robbie Burns and Hugh MacDiarmid tonbsp;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.

Scotland emerges -- The wars of independence -- Reformation and the war of the three kingdoms -- Union, Jacobites and popular unrest -- Enlightenment and capitalism -- Rebel lives: Robert Burns -- Radicals and chartists -- The highland clearances and resistance -- Scotland in the nineteenth century -- Rebel lives: James Connolly -- The Clyde runs red -- Rebel lives: John Maclean -- The 1920s: economic decline and general strike -- Rebel lives: Helen Crawfurd -- The great depression: suffering and resistance -- Rebel lives: Hugh MacDiarmid -- World War II and after -- Rebel lives: Mary Brooksbank -- The 1970s: when workers won -- The Thatcher years -- Twenty-first-century Scotland -- Conclusion: our destiny is in our hands.