Scottish Voices from the Great War

Involved with a Scottish regiment in the early 80s, this book brought back many memories. Scotland has been the true force in British history. The history of the Black Watch proves the point.

We all know the format of this kind of book: extracts from contemporary diaries and letters arranged thematically or chronologically, painting a vivid picture of the war in question (usually the First World War - surely the most written-about war of all time?).Derek Young deserves huge credit in unearthing so many obscure and hithertoo unseen/unquoted documents, which give this particularly Scottish view of the war (and why not? Per thousand of population, the Scots sent far more men to war than the English, Welsh or Irish).I would have liked a little more of the "Scottish Voices", and a little less of Mr. Young - he is continually putting in his oar with his own particular prejudices on the war which are sometimes clumsy and tinged with the cliched half-truths (perhaps from O What a Lovely War and Blackadder Goes Fourth) that everyone thinks they know about the war. The Voices you quote are strong enough to speak for themselves, Mr. Young, and a notch more subtle.If I had paid full-price for this book I might have thought that £12.99 was rather steep for a slimmish volume.But there is no other book containing this material, and for this reason everyone interested in Scotland and the Great War needs to get hold of a copy.