Böcker av Alistair Moffat

From the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, historian and author Alistair Moffat explores the history of the Scottish nation.

This journey through Lindisfarne is a meditation on the power of place, from the author of The Hidden Ways

A charming, lively and often amusing tour of 36 forgotten episodes and overlooked people and places of Scottish history. Scotland¿s history is full of famous kings, queens, saints and warriors. But what about its lesser-known places, people and events? In this collection of half-forgotten tales, Alistair Moffat brings their stories out of the shadows, from the clashes of proud Picts and `pirate kings¿ in the early medieval period to the invention of tartan, whisky, Aberdeen Angus and Peter Pan. Each surprising or scandalous twist sheds a new light on the history of Scotland.

Acclaimed historian Alistair Moffat sets off in the footsteps of the Highland clans. In twelve journeys he explores places of conflict, recreating as he walks the tumult of battle. This is a unique exploration of many of the places and events which define a country's history.

A story of the border: a place of beginnings and endings, of differences and similarities. This is also the story of an ancient place; where hunter-gatherers penetrated into the virgin interior, where Celtic warlords ruled, the Romans came but could not conquer, and where the glittering kingdom of Northumbria thrived.

What is it that makes this exquisite part of Italy so seductive? Historian Alistair Moffat embarks on a journey into Tuscany's past, underlining both the area's regional uniqueness as well as the vital role it has played in the history of the whole of Italy.

The border between Scotland and England is rich in history. It has been the site of battles, treaties, castles and crossroads. It is also a place where both countries display their nationalism: Saltires flying in the north, the Cross of St George to the south. But it can also be a lens through which to look at the changing history and identities of these two countries.Alistair Moffat is a life-long borderer and the ideal guide on this one-hundred-mile journey. We begin just north of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Already the battlelines have been drawn - the town having been grabbed by the English from Berwickshire in 1482 and never given back. From here we will head west as our tour travels backwards and forwards through history. In all, we will walk through eight centuries before we reach journey's end at the mouth of the River Sark.Between Britain is a history book, a travelogue, a personal reminiscence and a gently prodding examination of national identity. But above all it is a celebration of a place and the people who live there.

In rich and telling detail, Alistair Moffat relates the remarkable story of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The north is being renewed, the land is coming alive once more and this unique story ends on an upbeat note as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland look forward to a future of possibilities.

Acclaimed historian Alistair Moffat sets off in the footsteps of the Highland clans. In twelve journeys he explores places of conflict, recreating as he walks the tumult of battle. This is a unique exploration of many of the places and events which define a country's history.

A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative history. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffat¿s gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age ¿ which was instrumental in shaping Scotland¿s magnificent landscape ¿ through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence ¿ all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period. A story of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the land that became Scotland.

Fourteen centuries ago, Irish saints brought the Word of God to the Hebrides and Scotland's Atlantic shore. In this book, Alistair Moffat journeys from the island of Eileach an Naoimh at the mouth of the Firth of Lorne to Lismore, Iona and then north to Applecross, searching for traces of these extraordinary men.

A personal investigation into the history that surrounds us, from the historian and award-winning author of The Hidden Ways

The Night Before Morning is a gripping, page-turning thriller based on an alternative version of events at the end of the Second World War in the vein of Robert Harris and John Buchan. Alistair Moffat has created a chilling post-1945 world where Britain has been occupied by the Nazi forces.

This book tells the story of this unique undertaking - one of the biggest community arts projects ever to take place in Scotland - and reproduces in full colour a selection of the panels from the completed tapestry, together with descriptive and explanatory material

Longlisted for The Highland Book Prize 2020Fourteen centuries ago, Irish saints brought the Word of God to the Hebrides and Scotland's Atlantic shore. These 'white martyrs' sought solitude, remoteness, even harshness, in places apart from the world where they could fast, pray and move closer to an understanding of God: places where they could see angels. Columba, who founded the famous monastery at Iona, was the most well-known of these courageous men who rowed their curraghs towards danger and uncertainty in a pagan land, but the many others are now largely forgotten by history. In this book, Alistair Moffat journeys from the island of Eileach an Naoimh at the mouth of the Firth of Lorne to Lismore, Iona and then north to Applecross, searching for traces of these extraordinary men. He finds them not often in any tangible remains, but in the spirit of the islands and remote places where they passed their exemplary lives. Brendan, Moluag, Columba, Maelrubha and others brought the Gaelic language and echoes of how the saints saw their world can still be heard in its cadences. And the tradition of great piety endures.

In Who Built Scotland, the authors pick twenty-five buildings to tell the history of a nation. In vivid travelogues, they explore Scotland's social, political and cultural heritage, placing our people, ideas and passions at the heart of our architecture and archaeology. This is a story of how we shape buildings and how buildings, in turn, shape us.

Hadrian's Wall is the largest, most spectacular and one of the most enigmatic historical monument in Britain. This book considers who built the Wall, how it was built, why it was built and how it affected the native peoples who lived in its mighty shadow.

Only one period in history is immediately linked to the whole area of the Scottish and English Border country, and that is the time of the Reivers. Whenever anyone mentions Reiver, no-one hesitates to add Border. This book tells the tale of a land that was a no-man's-land but a land over which blood was shed on both sides of an invisible border.

Reveals the story of a fearless people, shaped by the traditions and landscape of the Scottish Highlands. In this book, the author traces the history of the clans from their Celtic origins to the coming of the Romans, through the great battles of Bannockburn and Flodden, to the Clearances and the present day.

A whirlwind tour of Scotland as it existed two thousand years ago. Moffat provides insight into old-Welsh speaking Celtic societies, defies the modern notion of geographical and linguistic constancy, and takes us back to when the Sons of Prophecy ruled and when the English kings of Bernicia held sway over vast swathes of what is now Scotland.