This book is a must for all those fascinated by Scotland's culture, history and heritage. Scotland's breathtaking countryside is studded with ancient castles, and many have stood strong for more than a millennium, each bearing witness to the rich and often bloody history of a nation that has survived generations of attacks from marauding invaders from every point of the compass. Scottish castles were not just fortresses in times of conflict: they were central to the lives of many Scots, of all social stations, through peacetime as well as war. Castles were their work place, home, army barracks, law court, prison, hotel, place of entertainment, place of worship and even their place of execution. This book charts the history of the Scottish people through these ancient buildings, and reveals the human aspect of the Scottish castle that is rarely glimpsed in other history books.