Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland FROM THE PUBLISHER
In Stone Voices, Neal Ascherson launches what he calls an imaginative invasion of his native land, searching for the relationships, themes, and fantasies that make up "Scotland."
"Beginning with a breathtaking portrait of the country's landscape, and of the way humanity has indelibly marked even its rockiest contours, Ascherson takes us on a journey through Scotland's past, interweaving his historical accounts with a rollicking report on a back-country bus expedition he joined during the 1997 referendum campaign that led to Scotland's first modern Parliament. He asked voters then what kind of country they hoped for, what they feared, and what they expected - questions that animate his book as well.
In his search for a nation, he explores many themes: the slow hybrid formation of the Scottish people over centuries of successive immigrations; the way their most renowned intellectuals and writers came to hate the national church; the distinct style of the Scots' contribution to the British Empire; the peculiar nature of their diaspora; the coexistence of their search for an "authentic" Scotland with the myths others create for them; and the Scots' proud sense of true independence. Stone Voices enlightens us about Scotland, about Europe, and about the conditions for freedom that we must all seek today.
FROM THE CRITICS
The New York Times
Ascherson is a journalist and author of international repute. He is also a Scot (on his mother's side) actively involved in his country's successful campaign to achieve partial autonomy. More to the point, perhaps, he is a writer with the vision to see around and beyond his subject even as he addresses it, and the sensitivity to notice the shadows on it. — Richard Eder
The Washington Post
Stone Voices is erudite, well written and often funny. Ascherson is too good a historian to be deluded by prejudice; he knows, for example, that the Highland Clearances were carried out mostly by Scots landlords, not by genocidal Englishmen. Yet even he cannot resist occasionally fingering his scars. — Adam Sisman
Publishers Weekly
Journalist and historian Ascherson (Black Sea, The King Incorporated) takes a close look at his native country-its history, its landscape, its populace, its aspirations for independence-in this richly textured portrait of a nation "at home in hard, stony times." For many, thanks to Braveheart, Scotland may conjure images of William Wallace crying freedom. But Hollywood drama aside, Ascherson's examination of Scottish movements for sovereignty, both political and cultural, and Scots' concerns for equality and popular rights during their turbulent history show how such a spirit rings true today. Culminating with the passage of the referendum establishing Scotland's first modern Parliament, Ascherson's account offers vivid scenes from the author's cross-country promotional campaign and intimate details of a nation's doubts and faith in the face of great political change. Ascherson investigates the elements that have shaped Scotland's oft-debated history as he meets them face to face, including emigration, religious and racial intolerance, regionalist feuds and influences, bilingualism and the abundant interpretations and reinterpretations of what is considered "authentic" history. Ascherson also pays close attention to the Scottish geology-with its shallow, wind-thrashed soil and barren, boulder-filled valleys-that makes it a beautiful but difficult land for its people to inhabit. An enlightening read, Ascherson's volume will encourage readers to attend to Scotland's future, as well as to the forces that affect their own freedoms. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
This is a unique book. While not a standard history that follows a time frame, it is a thorough examination of select aspects of Scotland's history, with a particular emphasis on the politics. Ascherson (Black Sea), who writes for the Independent in London, blends extensive research with his personal experiences to form an analysis of his homeland that spans centuries and covers such issues as archaeology, anthropology, and varying social highlights. Whether he is discussing the country's landscape, past demography, and changes in immigration or re-creating his 1997 back-country bus expedition during the referendum campaign that led to the country's new Parliament, Ascherson consistently delivers insightful anecdotes and glimpses into the country's formation and its people. Because this work is intended for serious academics or those with a sound foundation in Scottish history and politics rather than lay readers looking for light entertainment, it is most appropriate for scholarly collections.-Jo-Anne Mary Benson, Osgoode, Ont. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A British journalist and historian examines Scotland�s movements for home rule and independence--not necessarily conjoined--and illuminates their tangled roots. Ascherson (Black Sea, 1995, etc.) sees the politics of Scotland, old and ongoing, beset with what he calls "St. Andrew�s fault": the divide between a tentative, nonassertive majority perennially jostled, admonished, and sometimes inspired by an assertive minority that is usually exhorting "patriotism" to people unsure whether they live in a nation, an underprivileged colony, or some kind of artifact. What all should grasp, Ascherson believes, is that the urging for collective freedom, a.k.a. nationhood, is a rare Scottish continuum in an otherwise turbulent, chaotic, and often violent history. For those who apprehend it, the message can seem as old as the myriad standing stones left behind by a Neolithic culture, but it�s not that easy to learn a history rent over centuries by the worst kind of religious repression and political revisionism, whether in collusion with England or by Scots factions acting on their own. Even today, the author argues, Scottish history gets short and "less coherent" shrift even in Scotland�s own schools. Ascherson does his best to provide remedial thinking, explaining why England�s return of the Stone of Scone (as a "loaner") was greeted by a mass shrug, why having their own Parliament (since 1999, facing initial reelections this year) makes some Scots uneasy, and why Scots surprised even themselves by celebrating Mel Gibson�s Braveheart, which portrayed 13th-century patriot William Wallace. The tone is mostly affectionate and informed, except when, say, Margaret Thatcher is painted as a 20th-centuryLongshanks who hammers the Scots with economic policies that gut linchpin industries like mining and steel. For this and other reasons, it�s Ascherson�s hunch that Scotland will someday depart the UK for its own rendezvous with Europe. Greatly accessible compendium of scholarly passion.
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