Impaled Upon a Thistle

This is a strong addition to the New Edinburgh History of Scotland series...one that will serve as the standard survey on the twentieth-century Scotland for decades to come. -- Mark Klobas, Scottsdale Community College * Canadian Journal of History *
This is a dense political study, but the best of its kind, with enough social history to explicate the changes underway. The research is superb, and the full, up-to-date bibliography alone makes this book worth the price. Essential. -- J. J. Butt, James Madison University * Choice *
This is a dense political study, but the best of its kind, with enough social history to explicate the changes underway. The research is superb, and the full, up-to-date bibliography alone makes this book worth the price. Essential. -- J. J. Butt, Madison University * Choice *
Cameron’s book will be an essential reading for anyone wishing to seriouslyengage with late modern Scottish history. It will feature on all reading lists and I can already see the pencil defacement of the book by undergraduates, which is in itself a tribute to the author, though a nuisance to other readers. -- Bill Knox, University of St Andrews * Contemporary British History *
This is a highly readable book that is full of valuable insights and is a significant landmark in the development of Scottish historiography as it enters the twenty-first century. -- Richard J. Findlay, University of Strathclyde * English Historical Review, vol CXXVII, no 525 *
"These are only minor criticisms of a book which is well written and packed with historical detail and shrewd analysis. The author has avoided the prickly trap which forms his title and has produced a book that steers skillfully between the twin dangers of overemphasizing Scottish distinctiveness and squeezing Scotland's past into an artificial 'British' framework. It will surely become a standard work for those seeking to understand, research or teach Scotland's 20th century. -- Gordon Pentland, University of Edinburgh * History Scotland - Nov/Dec 2010 *
Cameron is a skilled story-teller, able to weave simultaneous strands of history together… An absorbing and insightful history of modern Scottish politics. -- Patricia Bowley, University of Guelph * International Review of Scottish Studies *
He [Cameron] is a marvellous and masterly guide. This book is one of the most factually rich accounts of Scotland's most recent history one could hope for, and is a valuable addition to existing work in this area... Dr. Cameron's mastery of the literature is impressive and the book's bibliography is itself a most useful source for scholars of this period.... The rich factual content of this work will, however, ensure its longevity on our bookshelves. Good scholarship never goes out of fashion. -- Catriona MacDonald * Scottish Review of Books *
Cameron’s book will be an essential reading for anyone wishing to seriouslyengage with late modern Scottish history. It will feature on all reading lists and I can already see the pencil defacement of the book by undergraduates, which is in itself a tribute to the author, though a nuisance to other readers. -- Bill Knox, University of St Andrews
He [Cameron] is a marvellous and masterly guide. This book is one of the most factually rich accounts of Scotland's most recent history one could hope for, and is a valuable addition to existing work in this area... Dr. Cameron's mastery of the literature is impressive and the book's bibliography is itself a most useful source for scholars of this period.... The rich factual content of this work will, however, ensure its longevity on our bookshelves. Good scholarship never goes out of fashion. -- Catriona MacDonald
This is a dense political study, but the best of its kind, with enough social history to explicate the changes underway. The research is superb, and the full, up-to-date bibliography alone makes this book worth the price. Essential. -- J. J. Butt, James Madison University