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Shortlisted for 'Polemic of the Year' at The Paddy Power/Total Politics Political Book Awards 2013!Following an introductory chapter exploring why political argument deals in probability and plausibility across interdependent areas of social activity not certainty in individual areas, this book offers a case for independence under six main headings - the democratic case, the economic case, the social case, the international case, the cultural case and the environmental case. Under each heading, the case is assessed against both the supportive evidence and the hostile evidence, from a variety of sources, concluding with a judgement of where the balance of the evidence points. The book concludes with a selection of populist objections to independence answered by summary rebuttals from the independence file. Reviews Maxwell has done his homework assiduously. The key historical, social science and political sources on the subject have been marshalled with skill and to good effect... The author writes in coherent and lucid prose so even complex economic arguments can be reaily understood and absorbed. SUNDAY HERALD This is a book of profound thought, intelligence and wit. To my mind it is the best book on the need for Scottish Independence and it certainly should be read and cherished by all of us who hope to contribute to the campaign. Stephen stimulated many of us for years, but this is his final and most powerful work. As Owen Dudley Edwards says in his Preface: "e;This book lifts the entire debate on Scottish independence to a new intellectual level. PAUL HENDERSON SCOTT Back Cover Independence: a nation's right to effective government by its people or for its people Evidence: interpretation of facts Risk: likelihood that outcomes will not be as predicted Wicked issues: problems perceived to be resistant to resolution What sorts of arguments and evidence should carry the most wight in assessing the case for and against Scottish independence? Given the complexity of the question and the range of the possible consequences, can either side in the argument protend to certainty, or must we simply be satisfied with probability or even plausibility? Are there criteria for sifting the competing claims and counter-claims and arriving at a rational decision on Scotland's future? In Arguing for Independence author Stephen Maxwell opens with a chapter on The Ways We Argue before exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments for independence under six main headings: the democratic case the economic case the social case the international case the cultural case the environmental case. He also provides his own concise answers to some of the most frequent 'Aye but' responses to the case for independence. By offering an assessment of the case for independence across all its dimensions, Arguing for Independence fills a longstanding gap in Scotland's political bookshelf as we enter a new and critical phase in the debate on Scotland's political future.

They'll all be crow bait by the time I'm finished...Jail was hell for Davie McCall. Ten years down the line, freedom's no picnic either. It's 1990, there are new kings in the West of Scotland underworld, and Glasgow is awash with drugs. Davie can handle himself. What he can't handle is the memory of his mother's death at the hand of his sadistic father. Or the darkness his father implanted deep in his own psyche. Or the nightmares...Now his father is back in town and after blood, ready to waste anyone who stops him hacking out a piece of the action. There are people in his way. And Davie is one of them. Tense, dark and nerve-wracking... a highly effective thriller. THE HERALD This is crime fiction of the strongest quality. CRIMESQUAD.COM A gory and razor-sharp crime novel from the start, Douglas Skelton's Crow Bait moves at breakneck speed like a getaway car on the dark streets of Glasgow. THE SKINNY Skelton has been hiding from his talent for long enough. High time he shared it with the rest of us. QUINTIN JARDINE PRAISE for Blood City The city's dark underbelly complete with knives, razors, guns and gangs... DAILY MAIL You follow the plot like an eager dog, nose turning this way and that, not catching every single clue but quivering as you lunge towards a blood-splattered denouement. DAILY EXPRESS The Glasgow of this period is a great, gritty setting for a crime story, and Skelton's non-fiction work stands him in good stead... he's taken well to fiction... the unexpected twists keep coming. THE HERALD

The Davie McCall saga returns in Devil's Knock. Davie McCall has darkness inside him. A darkness that haunts him, but also helps him do despicable things to those trying to cause him and his friends harm. When Dickie Himes is killed in a club owned by the Jarvis clan, it sparks a chain of events that Davie knows can only lead to widespread gang war on the streets of mid- 90s Glasgow. The police are falling over themselves to solve the crime, but when justice is so easily bought or corrupted, Davie needs to take matters into his own hands. Davie has to contend with the ghosts of those he has failed, a persistent Hollywood actor and a scruffy dog with no name. When he finds a target on his back, will Davie be able to suppress the darkness inside him and refuse to kill... Or will the devil s knock be too tempting?

Published to mark the first centenary of Italy's entry into the Great War, Like Leaves in Autumn features 21 original Italian poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti, with new English translations by Heather Scott.

Craving an escape from everyday life, Gregor Ewing writes a personal account of his 1,000 mile walk over nine weeks with collie Meg that takes them through Northern Ireland and the central belt of Scotland, literally following in Robert the Bruce's footsteps. From Kintyre, Arran and Ardrossan north to Ayr through Glasgow to Fort William and Elgin, south to Inverurie, Aberdeen and Dundee, over the Forth to Edinburgh and Berwick upon Tweed then east through Roxburghshire to Bannockburn, Gregor frames his expedition with historical background that follows Robert the Bruce's journey to start a campaign which led to his famous victory seven years later.

This book examines the most pressing issues facing us today in the context of the political and constitutional upheaval that is coursing throughout Western democracies. The shock politics of Trump and Brexit demonstrate that the political landscape has changed and we face an uncertain future. Henry McLeish offers a new approach to get us out of the mess we're in.

A new title in the popular 'Luath Storyteller' series, Tales of Edinburgh Castle is a salute tk the ancient tradition of storytelling, painting a vivid picture of the castle in bygone times, and the rich and varied characters to whom it owes its notoriety.

Stuart McHardy examines the Pictish symbols which have been discovered on various items across Scotland. This interpretation serves as a backdrop for his analysis of the symbols themselves, providing a context for his suggestion that there was an underlying series of ideas and beliefs behind the creation of the symbols.

Providing a recent history of the Scottish Government's Constitutional Policy since 2011, Bulmer asks what exactly is the 'common good' and what type of constitution would serve it, while also addressing questions of poverty, wealth, inequality and democracy.

We live in a time of crises in a state with no moral purpose. This generation could become great by tackling Scotland‿s domestic problems, and the wider issues facing the world. That is only possible if we take charge, set the goal of equality and give ourselves twenty years to transform our society. We can lead ourselves to a better world. ALEX BELLFormer Head of Policy to First Minister Alex Salmond, Alex Bell puts Scotland‿s future in a global context and sets out a way for Scotland and the UK to reform. This is a manifesto for the future free of party lines or the usual orthodoxies ‿ if you read only one book on the referendum, make it this one. The sort of original thinking that has been so sorely missing in the debate. - BEN THOMSON, Reform ScotlandBadly needed as a guide for the general reader tothe issues facing the Scottish people. - KENNETH ROY, Scottish ReviewA rare work ‿ a stimulating read that you would hope party manifestos would aspire to but rarely do. - JOHN McLAREN, Centre for Public Policy for RegionsA manifesto for the future. - ANDY WIGHTMAN, author of The Poor Had No Lawyers‿ an eloquent and alarmingly persuasive book. - THE SCOTSMAN, on Peak Water

Great Britain, (abbreviation: UK) England, Wales and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. reboot, ri-bu:t , verb to restart or revive... give fresh impetus to... federal, fed ar-al, adj. having or relating to a system of government in which several states form a unity but remain independent in internal affairs. Would federalism work in the UK? Wouldn't England dominate a British federation? How would powers be distributed between federal and home Nation level? What about the House of Lords? In the run up to the historic referendum on Scottish independence there has been a plethora of tracts, articles and books arguing for and against, but there remains a gap in the literature: the case for Scotland becoming part of a 'rebooted' federal Union. It is an old, usually Liberal, dream, but one still worth fighting for. It is often assumed that federalism is somehow 'alien' to the Scottish and British constitutional tradition but in this short book journalist David Torrance argues that not only has the UK already become a quasi-federal state but that formal federation is the best way of squaring the competing demands of Nationalists and Unionists. He also uses Scotland's place within a federal UK to examine other potential reforms with a view to tackling ever-increasing inequality across the British Isles and create a more equal, successful and constitutionally coherent country.

From Robert the Bruce to Alex Ferguson, find out what happens when Scotland's most famous figures overrun the present day. This new collection of poetry from acclaimed Scots writer Mark Thomson looks at the effect our famous ancestors have had on us, and what they would think of Scotland today.

Scottish Family Legends is a treasure trove of true tales written by people from all over Scotland.

Katherine Stewart examines the ways of life of Highland women through the spoken, sung and written histories they have left behind.

A collection of dramatic scripts by John Cairney interpreting the life and works of Robert Burns, this personal exploration of Burns' life and work builds a fuller picture of one of Scotland's most important cultural icons.

McLellan's collected works brings together previously unpublished plays like Jeddart Justice with acknowledged classics such as Jamie the Saxt and a selection of his poems.

Fatigued by bloated big-game football and bored of a samey big cities, Daniel Gray went in search of small town Scotland and its teams. Part travelogue, part history and part mistakenly spilling ketchup on the face of a small child, Stramash takes an uplifting look at the country's nether regions.

James Macpherson's translations of the poetry of Ossian, a third-century Highland Bard, were an instant success. But were the poems part of a great Gaelic oral tradition, or the work of Macpherson's imagination?

Civilisation is thirsty... it never stopped to think what would happen if the water ran out. ALEXANDER BELL Peak water is the point when the available water is not enough to meet the demands of the world's growing population. We might live on a watery world, but we are exhausting accessible supplies. Many parts of the world are already facing this crisis, and not only in the developing world. Some of the places experiencing 'peak water' are in the USA, Europe and the UK. Even the wettest lands will be engulfed in the global catastrophe that looms. This is the issue of our age. REVIEWS: What makes Peak Water interesting is the way it weaves such laconic personal predictions with a wealth of history, anecdote and analysis, all focussing on the vital role of water in the rise and fall of civilisations... [Bell's] aim is to provoke thought, to stir discussion amongst lay observers - and in that he certainly succeeds. SCOTTISH REVIEW OF BOOKS How we built civilization on water and drained the world dry is the subject of Alexander Bell's recent book, Peak Water. Bell delves deeply into the roots of modern civilisation, beginning just before the settlement of the first cities... There have been many books in recent years recounting the trouble we are in when it comes to water, but few that examine how we arrived at this point. Bell does just that... THE ECOLOGIST. BACK COVER: This tale flows from the moment a ditch was dug in old Iraq, to the way our modern cities work. It links the hanging gardens of Babylon to the first water supply for Los Angeles, the ancient myth of the Nile to swimming pools in the desert. Our world has been built around the control of water. We are fed by irrigated fields, live in plumbed cities, and turn on a tap without a moment's thought. Yet experts now believe that the next major war may be fought over water, and it will have life-altering consequences for every part of the world, wet or dry. Writer Alexander Bell discusses the way our civilisation moved from hunter gathering to the urban one we know today, and the influence that water had on this journey. He shows how water control flows through politics, religion, farming and the idea of the modern state. Yet history is littered with empires that have failed and vanished into dust, and Bell argues that we might face a similar fate unless we learn to manage our water better.

Or is doing the wrong thing the right thing to do when doing the right thing might turn out to be the wrong thing, and doing the wrong thing might turn out to be the right thing?Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing. JOHN D.

Writer and storyteller Stuart McHardy, known to take a dram or ten himself, draws upon the wide range of tales associated with the world's finest tipple, to make you laugh, cry and wonder!

This poetry collection centres around the wildness and beauty of Shetland, with deep insights into the island's inhabitants, nature and landscape.

Alistair Findlay's compilation of poems about social work shows the reader that the world they are living in is often shaped by poverty. With sad, sometimes absurd, insights, his poems are for everyone who wants to know what goes on behind closed doors.

So began the stormy marriage between Lord and Lady Grange, a marriage which was to end with Lady Grange's death on the Isle of Skye after 13 years in exile.

Costa winner award Ann Kelley (Koh Tabu, OUP Oxford, 9780192756046) has already proved to be an excellent photographer with her previous books Sea Front: A Cornish Souvenir and Paper Whites: Photographs and Poems.

This collcetion of poems eloquently captures the contradictions and multiple identities of modern China. Taking on ancient traditions and contemporary issues, this selection is in turn humorous and poignant and illustrates China as it is rarely seen.

The Central Highlands area is the smallest of the six regions covered in the series, but is packed with more Munros than any other - so many that this area has been split into two books, Central Highlands South including Glen Coe and Central Highlands North including the Nevis Range.

An Aberdonian born and bred, Ian R Mitchell delves into Aberdeen's rich, often unseen history, and culture from an exile's perspective.