Lucid and entertaining, this book follows the history of Celtic Scotland from the ancient kingdoms of the Picts and Scots to the downfall of Clan Donald at the end of the fifteenth century. The roles played by Somerled and his descendants, the Canmore kings, Edward I as the 'Hammer of the Scots', and Robert the Bruce, are recounted, along with the impact of the Wars of Scottish Independence, and their aftermath in the North. It was only in the Western Highlands of Scotland that Celtic society survived in quasi-independence as the Lordship of the Isles, until its final forfeiture in 1493. John...

Clan, King and Covenant explores the turbulent history of the Highlands during the seventeenth century. The signing of the National Covenant in 1638 first challenged the powers of Charles I in Scotland, but it was only when Alisdair MacDonald joined Montrose in raising the Royalist clans that the country erupted into civil war. Central to the conflict was the ancient enmity between the MacDonalds and the Campbells, Earls of Argyll, as clan Donald attempted to reclaim their ancestral lands in Argyll. There followed a whirlwind year of spectacular victories for Montrose in the name of the King...

Feuds, Forays and Rebellions is a history of the Highland Clans over the hundred and fifty years after the MacDonalds, Lords of the Isles, forfeited the Earldom of Ross in 1475. It describes the fragmentation of Clan Donald and its vassal kindreds as they resisted the impact of central authority, by James IV and his successors. Only by service to the Crown did the other leading families in the Highlands and Western Isles flourish and prosper until James VI of Scotland imposed apeace of sorts after the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

The Jacobite Wars is a detailed exploration of the Jacobite military campaigns of 1715 and 1745, set against the background of Scottish political, religious and constitutional history.The author has written a clear and demythologised account of the military campaigns waged by the Jacobites against the Hanoverian monarchs. He draws on the work of recent historians who have come to emphasise the political significance of the rebellions (which had been dismissed by earlier historians), showing the danger faced by the Hanoverian regime during those years of political and religious turbulence.The...