The John Donald imprint publishes Birlinn’s academic books on all aspects of Scottish culture, from architecture to philosophy, specializing in Scottish history.
Scottish history is not simply the distillation of Scotland’s past: authors shape what we know and how we judge our forebears. This book investigates who decided which Scottish voices of the past would be heard in history’s pages and which would ultimately be silenced. An essential landmark text for all undergraduate Scottish history programmes.
Drawing together the evidence of archaeology, palaeoecology, climate history and the historical record, this first environmental history of Scotland explores the interaction of human populations with...
St Columba is one of the most important figures in the early history of the British Isles. Drawing on contemporary sources and the latest modern research, this book traces Columba’s achievements and legacy. It examines his roles as abbot, scholar and missionary as well as his involvement in the affairs of kings in both Ireland and northern Britain.
In the eighteenth century, Glasgow and its outports became the dominant force in the highly lucrative tobacco commerce from the Americas to Europe. This prize-winning book explains why such remarkable success came about against fierce international competition. First published in 1975 this book is still considered the seminal work on the subject.
The Story of MacGibbon and Ross and the Castles they Surveyed
by Janet Brennan-Inglis
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 9780859767163
Publisher: Birlinn
Pub Date: 2024-06-06
Format: Paperback
Imprint: John Donald
256 Pages
This book tells the little-known story of the pioneering two architects and how they carried out their surveys of 700 of Scotland’s castellated buildings, ranging from great medieval fortresses to small lairds’ houses with pepper-pot turrets.
Early historic Scotland - from the fifth to the tenth century AD - was home to a variety of diverse peoples and cultures, all competing for land and supremacy. Yet by the eleventh century it had become a single, unified kingdom, known as Alba, under a stable and successful monarchy. How did this happen, and when?
If not perhaps the most popular Highland clan, the Campbells are undoubtedly one of the most successful. This book reassesses these negative images and interpretations of the growth of Campbell authority from the thirteenth century and the Wars of Independence through to the death of Archibald, 2nd earl of Argyll, at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
Salt is a vital commodity. For many centuries it sustained life for Scots as seasoning for a diet dominated by grains (mainly oats), and for preservation of fish and cheese.Sea-salt manufacturing is...
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The John Donald imprint publishes Birlinn’s academic books on all aspects of Scottish culture, from architecture to philosophy, specializing in Scottish history. 
