The author attempts too broad a sweep in this popular history. A glance at the rather slender bibliography indicates a strong religious bias; a more balanced view is required. There are the distortions typical of a single volume when complex events are condensed. The author would do well to consider Irish sources as Gaelic-speaking Scotland and Ireland were a single cultural entity for more than a millenium. To consider the history of one without the other results in an incomplete record and debatable conclusions.