After Great Britain lost the American colonies, a second generation of Scottish intellectuals saved Britain from stagnation and reinforced a self-confidence that allowed the country to manage a world empire during the Victorian era. Since the Enlightenment, which took a distinctive flavor in Scotland as opposed to the continental version, Scots have led or participated in much of the good and evil perpetuated by English-speaking peoples on the rest of the world, even when the language they spoke was hardly recognizable as English. In The Scotsman, reviewer George Kerevan wrote that Herman may have successfully proven his thesis but does not satisfactorily account for "why Scotland? He explains the huge influence that Scots had in creating and developing the early American system of education and universities such as Princeton. It gives a good, readable account of Scotland's path from poverty-stricken, religious fundamentalism in the 17th century to the heights of prosperity and enlightenment in the late 18th.

Scottish Tradition Vol.27 2002 - University of Guelph Scottish Tradition Vol.27 2002 - University of Guelph

From educators to scientists and engineers, Herman’s position is that Scots were responsible for the birth of what we would now think of as ‘modernity’. Though it was curious to read about Bonnie Prince Charles's ill-fated adventure and the beginning of Great Britain, the next chunk on David Hume etc.Obviously, the Scots did not do everything by themselves: other nations—Germans, French, English, Italians, Russians, and many others—have their place in the making of the modern world. Herman backs up his incredible title with myriad evidence that really supports how Scottish blood has invigorated and established some of the best concepts and inventions that have come out of the past three centuries or so. He also recognises the crucial importance of education, pinpointing Scotland as ‘Europe's first modern literate society’ – and this, in turn, is referred back to John Knox's insane but thorough religious reformation. Critics found the thesis to be over-reaching but descriptive of the Scots' disproportionate impact on modernity. Herman wrote the book for an American audience which may not have been very familiar with Scottish history.

How the Scots Invented the Modern World - Apple Books

Admittedly at the time this was somewhat disingenuous, since Nebraska even then had dozens of channels whereas Scotland had four (all of which were regularly interrupted by the fateful words ‘…except for viewers in Scotland’), but still, the point was made. Perhaps my love was born when reading Robert Louis Stevenson, George Macdonald, Sir Walter Scott, John Buchan, and O. I was impressed greatly by the fact that the Scottish did not believe race determined culture, mainly because their own history was viewed as savage and barbaric by others.During a school exchange to McCook, Nebraska, in the early 90s, my wife was asked whether they had television in Scotland. The Scots immediately benefited from a centralized government that paid little attention to it—for example, inexpensive imports reduced the impacts of famines and allowed a Scottish culture to flourish.

HOW THE SCOTS INVENTED THE MODERN WORLD | Kirkus Reviews HOW THE SCOTS INVENTED THE MODERN WORLD | Kirkus Reviews

Mary, Queen of Scots, Catherine the Great, and a ceramic painter hired by a very important architect. When the local Brahmin priests protested that this was interfering with an important national custom, Napier replied, “My nation also has a custom. A well-written and complete history that connects both the history, the minds, the movers and shakers, and the conflicts in Scotland from the 1600s to the 1900s with references to earlier times included for perspective. The same can be said about the Scots settlement of Australia with nary a mention of the dispossession and abuse the aboriginal population suffered during the conquest of its territory. This book describes the development of intellectual life and related events in Scotland from about 1700 onward.

I said it was an eternal mystery; one of the problems with this book is that the Scottish Enlightenment remains a bit of a mystery even after finishing it. Herman claims that the Scottish School of Common Sense influenced much of the American declaration of independence and constitution.