How crazy is this? On 6 June 1986, when I was a poor graduate student at the University of Arizona, I purchased J. D. Mackie's book, A History of Scotland (1964; 2d ed. 1978), perhaps through the Book of the Month Club. I bought it, as I recall, because I had always been interested in Scotland and hoped one day to visit the country. The book sat on my shelf, untouched, for almost 30 years. The other day, in anticipation of my trip to Scotland with dear Katherine, I pulled it off the shelf and began reading. Today, 13 days shy of 30 years after purchasing the book, I finished it (all 414 pages). I enjoyed the book very much and learned a lot, but was surprised and dismayed by the long history of violence in Scotland, some of it appalling in its brutality and much of it religiously motivated. I hope things have calmed down! (Images to come.)
Addendum: Here is the Wikipedia entry on Scotland.
