ASTONISHING SCOTLAND!
A Cheeky Thesaurus of Scottishness

Jim Hewitson

CATEGORY: SCOTTISH
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 2003
ISBN: 1 902927 67 2
EXTENT: 160 PAGES
PRICE: 7.99
FORMAT: 234 X 156 MM, PAPERBACK



Rank villains, cludgie humour, mankie women, famous gubbings, men in skirts, sadists, balloons and assorted bampots, sex, drugs and illicit lute playing . . . Theyre all in Jim Hewitsons latest foray along the scarred underbelly of Scottish history. Astonishing Scotland is a cheeky thesaurus of Scottishness, an AZ of Caledonian myth and mischief, a glimpse at the DNA of nationality. And on this individualistic journey, youll find a multitude of offbeat anecdotes from the history of our great, if somewhat confused, nation.

Where exactly did James IV go wrong at Flodden?
Should Dundee United be playing with a flat back four?
Which Scottish castle can claim the nations most spectacular thunderbox?
And did wearing a bunnet during sex really ensure you produced a male child?

Trawling the sometimes murky, often illuminating but always fascinating backwaters of Scotlands story, youll encounter the bizarre, the memorable, even the downright rude. So if you thought that Scottish history was as heavy as a pot of stale porridge, then prepare to be ASTONISHED!

THE AUTHOR
JIM HEWITSON has been a journalist, lobster fisherman, gypsy, author, graveyard grass-cutter, broadcaster and currently is an immature student at the University of Aberdeen. He worked for The Herald for twenty-five years, latterly as Edinburgh news editor, and is a regular contributor to radio and television on Scottish history and island life. His books include two important studies of Scots overseas Tam Blake & Co. and Far Off in Sunlit Places.