Border Fury provides a fascinating account of the period of Anglo-Scottish Border conflict from the Edwardian invasions of 1296 until the Union of the Crowns under James VI of Scotland, James I of England in 1603. It looks at developments in the art of war during the period, the key transition from medieval to renaissance warfare, the development of tactics, arms, armour and military logistics during the period. All the key personalities involved are profiled and the typology of each battle site is examined in detail with the author providing several new interpretations that differ radically from those that have previously been understood.

The Afterlife of King James IV explores the survival stories following the Scottish king's defeat at the battle of Flodden in 1513, and how his image and legacy were used in the years that followed when he remained a shadow player in the politics of a shattered kingdom. Keith John Coleman has written a legend-based biography of James IV that straddles the gap between history and folklore that looks at the undying king motif and otherworld myths of James IV, one of Scotland's most successful rulers.

Throughout history, all monarchs have lived with the same dichotomy of simultaneously being human and more than human. In our time, when monarchs seem little more than tourist curiosities and democracy is taken for granted, it is easy to forget just how much power pre-democratic rulers once wielded. The rulers and holders of political power in this book were all possessed of vast - in many cases, absolute, - power: power which was often exercised arbitrarily and unjustly. What unites the figures in this book is that they all, in one way or another, failed to live up to the extravagantly high hopes invested in them and, as a consequence, have been judged harshly by history. A few, such as George III, might have been remembered more kindly were it not for mental illness changing their status from that of hero to villain. Some, like Louis XVI, were unfairly transformed into monsters by hostile propaganda, while others, such as Pete the Great, have been both celebrated as heroes and denounced as tyrants, often in the same breath. Finally, there are hose rulers who, like Caligula or Ivan the Terrible, may well fully deserve their evil reputations. Ruthless Rulers is a study in how often rulers were carried away or overwhelmed by their exalted status, while a few were even driven over the edge into madness.

This fully revised second edition of Ian Maxwell’s Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors is a lively and accessible introduction to Scotland’s long, complex and fascinating story. It is aimed primarily at family historians who are eager to explore and understand the world in which their ancestors lived. He guides readers through the wealth of material available to researchers in Scotland and abroad. He looks at every aspect of Scottish history and at all the relevant resources. As well as covering records held at the National Archives of Scotland, he examines closely the information held at local archives throughout the country. He also describes the extensive Scottish records that are now available on line. His expert and up-to-date survey is a valuable handbook for anyone who is researching Scottish history because he explains how the archive material can be used and where it can be found. For family historians, it is essential reading as it puts their research into a historical perspective, giving them a better insight into the part their ancestors played in the past.

While the Reformed tradition originated with Huldrych Zwingli and was more fully developed with John Calvin, it was John Knox who made significant contributions to this movement as it unfolded in Scotland. John Knox: An Introduction to His Life and Works traces the life and thought of John Knox in a succinct and readable way. While a number of biographies tell the story of the famous Scottish reformer, professors Kyle and Johnson take the reader in a different direction, offering an interpretation of his writings. They take a chronological approach to his works--leading the reader through his early years, his exile, and his return to Scotland--allowing them to speak for themselves, an approach that also tells the story of Knox's life and ideas.