“On Glasgow and Edinburgh is a thoroughly enjoyable book, all the more so for provoking arguments (the Glaswegian’s favorite hobby). Readers familiar with the two cities will enjoy the recitation of familiar history and the frequent occurrence of unfamiliar fact and anecdote. Those who have not (yet) gazed from Castle Street in the New Town to Castle Rock, the high glory of the Old, will read about it and make plans to visit. After Edinburgh, they should fly around the world and arrive at Glasgow and discover Scotland all over again.”—James Campbell, The Wall Street Journal
“Robert Crawford is that rarest breed of Scotsman: one who professes to love Edinburgh and Glasgow equally… He has produced a walking guide to Scotland’s greatest cities that will delight any literary-minded tourist. Many natives will learn much from this agreeable book too.”—Alex Massie, New Statesman
“A fascinating book filled with pithy observations and unexpected anecdotes. Crawford comes across like an erudite, beady-eyed flâneur, alive to the relationship between topography and history, combining spirited insight with irreverent characterizations… Melding personal reminiscence with inspired historical research he has a keen eye for the ironies and contrasts of city life. As a result there is enough surprising information here to delight even those who know the territory well… Crawford assembles a compelling case for the idea that the two cities get more from their colorful rivalry than they would from a bland collaboration… This richly illustrated, intelligent and compelling work of history and reflection offers heartfelt tribute to both.”—David Stenhouse, Scotland on Sunday
“This is an unfailingly intelligent and sympathetic book.”—Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman
“Crawford’s aim is not to create a fast-paced travel guide to each city. Instead, he takes the reader in hand, moves to the center of town, selects 24 sites of interest in each city, and sets off on a walking tour. By journey’s end, the reader is utterly—and equally—beguiled by Edinburgh and Glasgow… Crawford is a Scottish Walt Whitman, singing of the cities he loves.”—Jo Gibson, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“As with all good ideas, one wonders why no-one has ever written a book about Glasgow and Edinburgh before… Crawford attempts, with admirable evenhandedness, to explain their parallel stories… It is of course remarkable that two cities just 50 or so miles apart are so different in character and sensibility. Travel from one to the other and you could be in another country… Far from seeing the Glasgow–Edinburgh rivalry as debilitating, Crawford regards it positively.”—Alan Taylor, The Glasgow Herald
“From the eminent poet and professor of literature comes a thoughtful and provocative account of the rivalry that has dogged these two cities. It’s [Crawford’s] belief that this ongoing duel has played a significant part in shaping Scotland, but also that it ought now to be resolved.”—Rosemary Goring, The Sunday Herald
“This is a fascinating book, if in some ways a peculiar one, part coffee table, part high table, elegant and erudite but wearing its learning lightly… Beautifully illustrated—the images of the Falkirk Wheel are stunning—and written in an effortlessly engaging style, On Glasgow and Edinburgh is a bold and breezy book.”—Willy Maley, Times Higher Education
“A delightfully engaging mix of history, architectural reference, and literary allusion. A most enjoyable read, which will have wide appeal well beyond aficionados of these two great cities.”—T.M. Devine, author of The Scottish Nation: A Modern History
“A wonderful book—richly informative, critically astute, and lucidly and vividly written.”—Ian Duncan, author of Scott’s Shadow: The Novel in Romantic Edinburgh
“This book is a beautiful idea lovingly accomplished. It is high time that the old and ugly rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh ended, and this book shows us how to do it. Like an inspirational couples counsellor, Robert Crawford suggests that bigamy is the answer: we should learn to love both of these great cities with equal passion. He does, and so do I. You should try it, too.”—Richard Holloway, author of Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt
“People familiar with either place will find much to divert them in these pages, and those who have never visited Scotland’s great cities will feel that they have been there after reading Crawford’s book.”—Fiona Stafford, author of Local Attachments
On Glasgow and Edinburgh
Add to Cart
Book Details
HARDCOVER
$35.00 • £20.00 • €31.50
ISBN 9780674048881
Publication: February 2013
![Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence in Publishing: Harvard University Press Centennial, 1913-2013 [Picture of birthday cake]](/images/badges/hup-centennial.jpg)
