To be honest, yes it was the cover…

Alistair Moffat has decided to regale us with some facets of Scottish history that he feels have been mislaid and has set them out in this stunningly beautiful book full of great illustrations by Joe McLaren.

Each little incident is set out over three or four pages and it written in a light-hearted, often humorous manner.

It is a lovely little collection of what-ifs exploring the ways that Scotland could have diverged at any time during its long history, how a very distinct geography influenced the history also.

I love this style of book set out in small chapters making it easy to be a bedside book to dip into at night but I can never resist just reading the whole book in almost just one sitting.

I especially loved the chapter “The Cave of Headless Children” I also loved how we were told to remember that different people worshipped in different ways.

The little chapter about reivers and their relationships to American presidents was also eye opening and explains a lot…

There is something here for everyone and written in a light accessible manner making history really live.