Being Scottish

This text consists of 100 short reflections on the experience of being Scottish in the opening years of the 21st century. The collection includes the views of people at the centre of things as well as those at the margins of society, the famous as well as the not so well known, the authoritative and mainstream as well as the idiosyncratic. It also contains views "from the outside", from North America, Europe and elsewhere.It examines the concept and experience of being Scottish at this time in history and assess its relevance, strengths, advantages and weaknesses. The collection seeks to discover whether there is a special something which makes the Scottish distinctive and immediately recognizable and, if so, seeks to describe it. In short it is a snapshot of Scottish identity or, as the case may be, Scottish identities.