Caledonia Dreaming

(Paperback)

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Description

So what have the Scots ever done for the world then

Well, most people will know about John Logie Baird (inventor of television), Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone) and Alexander Fleming (penicillin).

But what about Alexander Cummings from Edinburgh It would be hard to imagine getting through the day without using his invention - the flushing toilet.

Or how about William Cullen from Glasgow There would be a lot of sour milk (and warm beer) without the first man to demonstrate artificial refrigeration.

And then there's Alexander Bain from Caithness. Can anyone really imagine a world without his invention - the fax machine

The list goes on and on; Janet Keillor from Dundee (marmalade), James Clerk Maxwell from Edinburgh (radio waves), John Reith from Stonehaven (the BBC), James Black from Uddingston (beta-blockers) James Bowman Lindsay from Angus (light bulbs), James Goodfellow from Paisley (the ATM), Dugald Clerk from Glasgow (the two-stroke engine), Alexander McRae from the Kyle of Lochalsh (speedos), James Blyth from Kincardineshire (the first electricity producing wind turbine).

Caledonia Dreaming tells the often frankly unbelievable stories behind these discoveries and looks at how they, along with the writers, philosophers, philanthropists and bankers of Scotland have left their unique, indelible mark on the modern world.

Author Bio

John KV Eunson was born in Shetland where he lived until moving to the mainland to study at the University of Edinburgh. John has spent most of his working life in bookselling and publishing but can also shear a sheep in just under twenty minutes, which provided the inspiration for his first book Sheep For Beginners published in 2005. He still hopes to write the sequel Sheep For Intermediates sometime in the future. John lives in Edinburgh and would be delighted to present a TV programme on Scottish history, but doesn't really have the hair for it.