Reviews
With sparkling prose, Moffat reveals the city's past, from prehistory and the Romans onwards'.
Sunday Post
If you want to find out how to write a history of a place, you should talk to Alistair Moffat...One of the joys of Alistair Moffat new history of Glasgow is his magpie eye for lesser-known facts
The Scotsman
Beautifully written and keenly and affectionately observed... it's how ordinary Glaswegians would want the history of their city to be written
Herald magazine
About the Book
Scotland’s largest city has always been one of the most vibrant, varied and fascinating places in the country.
This new history of Glasgow begins with the river, for the Clyde made the city flourish. From prehistory to the Romans, to Mungo and the kingdom of Strathclyde, it’s a rich, quirky and moving story that remembers the foundation of the burgh by the bishops and moves rapidly to the Union of 1707, when Edinburgh lost a parliament and Glasgow gained access to an empire and business boomed.
Immigrants began to arrive: Highlanders, Irish families fleeing the famine, Jews fleeing persecution and lately Asians who transformed tastes. Britain’s favourite dish, chicken tikka masala, was invented in the city. Football, architecture, heavy industry, politics and a distinctive sense of humour are all celebrated. Glasgow has never hesitated to reinvent itself – because its greatest resource has always been its people.
They belong to Glasgow and Glasgow belongs to them. This is their story.
The Author
Alistair Moffat
Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Director of Programmes at Scottish Television and founder of the Borders Book Festival, he is also the author of a number of highly acclaimed books. From 2011 he was Rector of the University of St Andrews. He has written more than thirty books on Scottish history, and lives in the Scottish Borders.
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