The Broken Journey A Life of Scotland 1976–99

This is the second volume in Kenneth Roy’s magisterial series on the life of Scotland since the Second World War. The first, The Invisible Spirit: A Life of Post-War Scotland 1945–75, was met with immediate acclaim. Ian Hamilton declared it ‘The most remarkable book on Scotland I have ever read’. This new volume brings the story much closer to the present day and traces in vivid and enthralling detail the social and political threads which lead directly to the Scotland of the twenty-first century. There are wonderful highs and devastating lows. Along the way the author describes the oil boom in Shetland, gives a hilarious account of Scotland’s doomed campaign at the World Cup in Argentina and tells the astonishing story of the cloning of Dolly the sheep. In dark contrast he also provides a searing analysis of such tragedies as the Orkney child sex abuse scandal, the Lockerbie bombing and the massacre of schoolchildren and a teacher at Dunblane. This is not conventional history as a bland recital of facts: in a sparkling and caustic critique, Kenneth Roy anatomizes an often dysfunctional Scotland which is still recognisable today. But as the book closes, hope is just round the corner – or is it? The Broken Journey culminates in a referendum and the inauguration of the new Scottish parliament. The stage is set for the future we now live in . . .