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Mark of the Scots
The Mark of the Scots. Their Astonishing Contribution to History, Science, Democracy, Literature and the Arts. By Duncan A. Bruce. Published by Birch Lane Press (Carol Publishing Group), U.S.A. 1996. £21.00. ISBN: 1-55972-356-4.
This book does not deal with Freemasonry in particular but there is an appendix on that subject. The announcement, on 20th March 1998, by the Senate of the United States of America (Resolution No.155) that henceforth the 6th April is to be designated Tartan Day makes it entirely appropriate that a book such as this be reviewed here. You may wish also to access the site 'Tartan Day' provided by our ISP - Scotland on Line.
The 368 pages of this book are devoted to detailing the contribution of Scotsmen and Scotswomen, and their descendants, to the major fields of human endeavour. Whilst it does provide information about their activities in North America over the last few centuries it does not ignore their contribution in other parts of the world.
Eleven chapters are devoted to such diverse subjects as: - The Creation of the United States (including a comparison of the Declaration of Arbroath and the Declaration of Independence); [the full text of the Declaration of Arbroath, in Latin and English, is provided via a link at the end of the contents page] Scottish Soldiers & Sailors and Sport. Twenty-one appendices give more detailed information on a range of subjects from Scottish Brand Names, Scots in American Education, the Nobel Prize and Scottish Inventions.
For anyone interested in the history of the Scots this book is a delight. It is not laid out in the most logical manner but that is an attraction in itself for one never knows exactly what information is to be found on the next page. It can be used equally as a book of reference or something to 'dip into' during spare moments. The book contains a few pages of black and white illustrations and photographs but these are not essential. It is the information provided which is important.
The foreword is written by the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, KT, a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. By the way, many of those discussed in the book were Freemasons!
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