Scotland is one of the oldest nations in Europe. Its territory has remained fundamentally unchanged since the fifteenth century, and its southern border with England has barely altered- with the exception of Berwick and a few square kilometres of 'debatable' land - since 1237. And yet Scotland - a country with a global brand - is not a state at all. The Shortest History of Scotland argues that its very ambiguity is what has made the nation a central part of the global story.

Starting at the very beginning with a Scotland before Scotland - a tribal society connected closely by sea to Ireland, before becoming a place defined by being the part of an island beyond the Roman wall - Pittock ranges with dazzling expertise through the defining episodes of Scottish history up to the present.