To See Ourselves - A Personal History of Scotland Since 1950

Alistair Moffat

Publisher: Birlinn

Summary

Since 1945 the world has changed at breakneck speed, and life in post-war Scotland is now entirely different from what it was like when Alistair Moffat grew up in the quiet Border town of Kelso in the 1950s. At that time the rhythms and practicalities of daily life which had remained constant for many generations were about to change in the most unimaginable ways.
This is a book about these changes – many of which have been dizzying and disorientating – and how they have affected each and every one of us in all parts of the country. The main themes, such as housing, healthcare, sport, the media, the arts and entertainment, urban and country life, our relationship with the environment, politics, religion and education, are all viewed through the lens of personal experience. Alistair's own recollections of big events and small, together with other eyewitness accounts, bring these decades alive in a way that no ordinary history can with a directness and poignancy that underlines how much has been gained – and how much lost.

Available since: 06/12/2025.

Print length: 272 pages.

Humanities & Social Sciences

Other books that might interest you

Diary of Samuel Pepys - Complete...

Samuel Pepys

Diary of Samuel Pepys - Complete 1662 N.S. Edited by Richard Griffin Braybrooke and Henry B. Wheatley. Translated by Mynors Bright

libreka classics – These are classics of literary history, reissued and made available to a wide audience. 
Immerse yourself in well-known and popular titles!

Show book

Raising Kids beyond the Binary -...

Jamie Bruesehoff, Rebekah...

Dare to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children. 
 
 
 
Drawing on the author's experience as a mother walking with and learning from her own transgender child, as well as working with hundreds of families across the country doing the same, this book helps parents navigate the emotional, spiritual, and logistical landscape of raising a gender-diverse child. 
 
 
 
Grounded in the unequivocal truth of God's deep love and limitless creativity, this book compels listeners to move past "all are welcome" to loving and celebrating transgender and gender-diverse youth in the brilliance of their uniqueness, the wisdom of their self-awareness, and the joy of their authenticity. Faith leaders and adults who work with youth will also find the book a helpful tool for gaining insight and building safer and more welcoming congregations for these children. 
 
 
 
Rich with personal stories, research, and practical steps, this book dares to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold and joyful acceptance and celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children and youth. These children need us, and the world needs them.

Show book

Summary & Analysis of The 5 AM...

Storyshorts

Life can be overwhelming and time can be scarce. If The 5 a.m. Club has been forgotten on your bookshelf, why not take this moment to discover the key insights it offers? Instead of letting time pass you by, grab the essentials and start transforming your routine now. 
  
Important note: This is an independent analysis and summary, not affiliated with the author or the source material.

Show book

The Olympian Gods

Henry M. Tichenor

The Olympian GodsBy Henry M. Tichenor Narrated by Oberon MichaelsHenry Mulford Tichenor (1858 - 1922) was a writer and journalist, who was a very active free thinker in the early Twentieth Century.A special target of Tichenor was organized religion, which he viewed as an absurdly contrived cultural artefact. In The Olympian Gods he applies a critical scalpel to the religion of the ancient Greeks,  which he regarded as an obvious precursor to Christianity.   Production copyright 2024 Voices of Today

Show book

Murder in the Family

Burl Barer

Now updated, the New York Times bestseller about a horrifying Alaska massacre and a controversial trial: “Barer writes true crime at its best.” —Jack Olsen On March 15, 1987, police in Anchorage, Alaska, arrived at a horrific scene of carnage. In a modest downtown apartment, they found Nancy Newman’s brutally beaten corpse sprawled across her bed. In other rooms were the bodies of her eight-year-old daughter, Melissa, and her three-year-old, Angie, whose throat was slit from ear to ear. Both Nancy and Melissa had been sexually assaulted. After an intense investigation, the police focused on a principal suspect: twenty-three-year-old Kirby Anthoney, a troubled drifter who had turned to his uncle, Nancy’s husband John, for help and a place to stay. Little did John know that the nephew he took in was a murderous sociopath. These shocking, tragic events stunned Anchorage residents and motivated the Major Crimes Unit of the city’s police department to get everything right. Feeling the heat, Kirby bolted for the Canadian border. But he was caught in time—and the cops and a tenacious prosecutor began a long, bitter battle to convict him, up against an equally tough defense lawyer and the egomaniacal defendant himself. The tale reached its climax in a controversial trial, where for the first time an FBI profiler was allowed to testify and the pre-DNA science of allotyping was presented to a jury. But justice would not be served until after the psychopathic Kirby Anthoney took the stand in his own defense—and showed the world the monster he truly was.

Show book

Approach Without Caution: The...

James Haskell

Is there always someone else to blame for your failures? 
Afraid of putting the real work in to achieve your goals? 
Are you sick of just being average and do you want to start winning? 
It’s time to drown out self-doubt and the distracting noise of everyday life, to conquer your fears and approach challenges without caution. 
One of rugby’s most ferocious flankers and successful players, James Haskell has always strived to be at the very top of his game. To achieve a global rugby career, he knew he had to keep his body strong. To go on to found an award-winning production company and become a successful DJ and bestselling author, he knew he had to keep his mind even stronger. 
Revolutionary and revealing, Approach With(out) Caution presents James Haskell as you’ve never known him. James takes the lessons he’s learned, both on and off the pitch, and turns them into a five-pillar plan to help you take control of your life. 
In this latest biography from Sunday Times bestselling author James Haskell, the sports icon shares his personal journey of growth and fitness, revealing how he maintained a healthy mind and body throughout his successful rugby career. His approach to life, both on and off the pitch, is a testament to his mental strength and dedication. 
For fans of Rachel Murphy (Just A Child), Joe Marler (Loose Head), Luke Upton (Hard Men of Rugby), Peter Crouch (How to Be an Ex-Footballer), and Jonny Wilkinson (Jonny). 
HarperCollins 2023

Show book