A History of Scottish Architecture: From the Renaissance to the Present Day.

General histories of architecture are notoriously difficult to write. Few reach a second edition; a very small number indeed become classics. This new volume has distinct promise, but also has a number of wrinkles, of both large and small scale, that will need to be ironed out in a second edition.

The time span and the geographical limits have proved manageable, but problems of definition of Scottishness have led to some curiosities in the text. For instance, Norman Shaw is included as Scottish, with a truncated list of English works and, of course, no buildings in Scotland. Charles Cameron is included and his Russian works listed, in spite of recent scholarship that has established that Cameron's claim to Scottish noble descent was fraudulent.

The chapters devoted to the twentieth century present brand new material. These chapters are of real interest. They put important figures of this century, such as Robert Matthew and Basil Spence, in context for the very first time. Again the divide between England and Scotland is an awkward one architecturally, even if for the authors a matter of serious principle. Spence's practice was clearly centred in England after his Coventry Cathedral success, but Matthew remained a Scot in heart and deed, although he maintained an extensive practice in England and overseas.

Generally the authors have been too anxious to include all the well-known buildings of any particular period. The book could be shortened with benefit. In spite of these shortcomings, the book is to be welcomed as a first of its kind.