An American takes off on a walk from east to west in Scotland is the main theme of this book. It is enjoyable at times with the introduction of interesting characters that are met along the road. Because the author has not really planned the trip he is constantly having problems with a place to stay, getting something to eat, and the Scottish weather. This is well done and the compelling ingredient of the book.

We were sorry to find the negatives out weight the positive side of the book. Too much time is spent on political discussions instead of the tale of the walk. One of the main themes running through the book seems to be the Scottish people's resentment of the British. Some Scottish people do resent the British but it certainly is not a wide spread as this book presents it. Why the book closes with a chapter on an interview with a member of the Scottish National Party is a mystery? What does this have to do with walking through Scotland? The last chapter should have more to do with the walking.

The other problem with the book is it not adequately proofread and contains many of those errors that spell checks miss. There are places that sentence structure confuses the reader about exactly what is happening. The addition of a trip to London in the middle of the book seems to be misplaced and unnecessary to the main theme.

This would have been a great book if the author had stayed with the original theme of an American walking across Scotland. We have given it only two thistles because of the problems mentioned above.