Scotland's Populations from the 1850s to Today

Rooted in an ocean of statistics, this book could easily have been a daunting read. It is to the author's credit that he has provided the interpretative tools necessary to navigate that ocean meaningfully, comprehensively and with considerable added value to existing scholarship. Furthermore, by harnessing quantitative evidence to qualitative evaluation, he has unlocked some of the individual and community experiences that lie behind the bald figures. This meticulously researched and far-reaching study should therefore be required reading for all who seek to understand the socio-economic, as well as the demographic, history and culture of modern and contemporary Scotland. * Marjory Harper, The English Historical Review *
The scope of what is included in this volume in under 500 pages is astonishing: those waiting since Flinn for the next big book on Scottish demography will not be disappointed. A historian of less standing could not have pulled off such a feat...[it] will not only be invaluable for research and teaching, but will reward a broader audience with deep enough pockets. * Malcolm Noble, University of Edinburgh, Economic History Review *
[a] wonderfully informative and wide-ranging book * Simon Szreter, A Journal of Demography *
The breadth and depth of its content makes Michael Anderson's Scotland's Populations a rich meal of a book. * Eilidh Garrett, Continuity and Change *
Anderson's book is a fine example, able to stand alongside the best national studies of European demography, by the likes of Livi Bacci or Wrigley and Schofield; in closely scrutinising the social, economic, political, and cultural context of demographic behaviour, it is superior to them. * Rab Houston, Scottish Historical Review *
MacEachern's work will be useful for specialists in a variety of fields. * Publisher's Weekly *
This book presents scholarship of the highest quality, and a new standard point of reference has been achieved. * Graeme Morton, Scotia: Interdisciplinary Journal of Scottish Studies *
[a] wonderfully informative and wide-ranging book * Simon Szreter, Population Studies *
'A magisterial study of Scotland's population over the past one and a half centuries that by identifying and exploring recent and current demographic trends is highly relevant for our understanding of the main demographic challenges that face Scotland today. * Professor Chris Whattley, University of Dundee *
It is a masterly demonstration of what can be achieved when writing the population history of a nation with a keen eye for the local and regional perspective * Local Population Studies *
an important book ... Given the comprehensiveness and thoroughness of its analysis, it is certain that Anderson's book will become the standard work in its field ... It is impossible not to be impressed by the comprehensiveness of Anderson's work. * Scottish Review *