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.