{"product_id":"stone-voices-the-search-for-scotland-9780809088454","title":"Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe rediscovery of Scotland's past and a wake-up call about its future, from a leading scholar-journalist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScotland has a new Parliament and it has North Sea oil, but is it yet an independent, self-sustaining democracy? Is it a true nation? In Stone Voices, Neal Ascherson launches what he calls an imaginative invasion of his native land, searching for the relationships, themes, and fantasies that make up \"Scotland.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeginning with a breathtaking portrait of the country's landscape, and of the way humanity has indelibly marked even its rockiest contours, Ascherson takes us on a journey through Scotland's past, interweaving his historical accounts with a rollicking report on a back-country bus expedition he joined during the 1997 referendum campaign that led to Scotland's first modern Parliament. He asked voters then what kind of country they hoped for, what they feared, and what they expected--questions that animate his book as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his search for a nation, Acherson explores many themes: the slow, hybrid formation of the Scottish people over centuries of successive immigrations; the way their most renowned intellectuals and writers came to hate the national church; the peculiar nature of their diaspora; the coexistence of their search for an \"authentic\" Scotland with the myths others create; and the Scots' proud sense of true independence. Stone Voices enlightens us about Scotland, about Europe, and about the conditions for freedom that we must all seek today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Greatly accessible compendium of scholarly passion.\" - \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNeal Ascherson\u003c\/b\u003e writes for \u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e in London and \u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e. His books include\u003ci\u003e Black Sea\u003c\/i\u003e (H\u0026amp;W, 1995) and \u003ci\u003eThe Struggles for Poland\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in London.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hill \u0026 Wang","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50328649695506,"sku":"9780809088454","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7e1ffd64-3d34-432d-9177-99e395b015b1.jpg?v=1727746631","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/stone-voices-the-search-for-scotland-9780809088454","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}