The Flowers Of The Forest

On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as 'the workshop of the Empire'. Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain's total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies. Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli - young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called 'the vanished generation'. In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes - the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarization of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; and the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women's role in society following on from wartime employment.

Scotland, 1513. Bess Andersen, a spirited country girl rejected by her seducer, turns to prostitution. Margaret Tudor, James IV's Queen, searches in vain for the love and protection she needs. Here live witches, watchmen, priests, and beggars; lawyers, cutthroats, lords and ladies-- a whole world boiling with life-- a world that was to change practically overnight.

This book explores the botanical richness and cultural heritage of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. The New Forest has become an exceptional area for wildflowers, many of which were once common throughout the lowlands of Britain. The Forest enjoys strong populations of many special wildflowers because it retains a living tradition of free-ranging domestic animals grazing its coastland, extensive commons, and village greens. This book is an exploration of how the wildlife of the Forest is the natural expression of the lives and economy of the people of the Forest. An introduction to the New Forest and how its commoning economy works A description of the principal habitats of the Forest and how they relate to one another Accounts of the people who have explored the Forest for wildflowers from the early 17th century to the present Descriptions of more than 100 species of the rarer flowering plants and ferns currently known from the National Park, many of which are nationally or internationally rare, scarce, or threatened An account of Forest conservation issues by someone who has participated in the life of the Forest for more than 20 years

The author of Culloden details the effects of World War I on Scotland. On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as “the workshop of the Empire.” Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain’s total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies. Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli—young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called “the vanished generation.” In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes: the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarization of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; and the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women’s role in society following on from wartime employment. “Royle has done First World War History a great service.” —Gary Sheffield, military historian “His exceptional talents at narration produce a work that is both through-provoking and engaging . . . A vivid, solidly-written book.” —International Review of Scottish Studies

A collection of nineteen darkly-comic short stories about life in Nigeria, by Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni rights activist, who was executed in 1995 by the dictator Sani Abacha.