William Wallace: Brave Heart

Rating:
Summary: richly details history of Wallace and his rising
Review: As a child of 9 I picked out the decor for my new room - Wallace Plaid - which dumbfounded my family since our Clans were MacGillivray, Ogilvie, Grant, Fraser and Montgomerie! But I thought Wallace such a great, sweeping figure. This was decades before Randall Wallace accidentally discovered William Wallace on a vacation in Scotland and read Anne Porter's Highland Chiefs. Wallace, to me, was such a true Patriot - not a Saint, but a man willing to go to the wall, to die for what he believed. Not many of us would walk in his shoes, so I have to admire his willingness to die for an idea.
James MacKay gives a richly details account of the Scottish clime of politics that formed and fermented Wallace. It might be a little bit more than the average reader would be interested in (I would suggest Grey's book on Wallace in that case), but for those wishing to know more without wading through Blind Harry, this is a wonderful work.

A perfect gift to that friend that watched Braveheart more than once!!

Rating:
Summary: brave travesty
Review: As a Wallace aficionado, i looked forward to reading this, but to say i was disappointed was an understatement.
This badly researched book was full of inaccuracies.
The author puts forward an alternative Wallace birthplace, putting forward detail that the unsuspecting reader would probably take on board. For instance, he says "Corsbie is of course, now known as Crosshouse", whereas these two places are seperate entities.
He places one monument, that of Leglen Wood, 20 miles away from its correct location, and claims Wallace was born in Ayrshire, whereas the Wallace family were vassals of the Stewart family, who never owned land in this area, and so Wallace could not have been born there.
Dates are wrong, one monument he claims was built in 1970, was actually built in 1910.
I feel the author, no stranger to controversy, has jumped on the Wallace bandwagon, and has rushed this work out to take advantage of the boom caused by Braveheart. Many people see details in print, and assume they are true. This book has so many inaccuracies that it will actually lead its readers astray.

Rating:
Summary: Do read, but with a pinch of salt
Review: I write this review as possibly the only Scottish person who hated the film- after reading this book it was huge disappointment.

MacKay's book is very engaging, providing a very powerful tale of one of Scotland's two biggest hero's that is very enjoyable to read. Wallace's rise from obscurity into a national hero, his massive victory against the odds followed by his spectacularly rapid fall from grace are truly inspirational. Furthermore MacKay has made the effort to try to correct common misconceptions and redirects the spotlight onto those important figures whom are commonly neglected. No, unlike Mel Gibsons claims, William Wallace didn't believe in 'The American Dream'. No, he didn't reluctantly resort to violence and war as a last resort and in revenge for a loved one- he relished battles out of hatred for the english oppressors and corrupt scottish barons. And finally, no the Irish soldiers didn't change sides and join the scots out of a desire to please Irish-Americans and thus increase box office takings for a motion picture to be made hundreds of years later- they stuck with the english against their fellow celts.

There is a large problem, namely how much of the book can be trusted as being true. As very little documentation from the period exists, Mackay heavily uses a poem written by 'Blind Harry', which in turn was based on a second hand account by a church figure. Thus parts such as the claim Wallace rose from near death, must be taken with a pinch of salt. In addition Mackay sometimes bombards the reader with too many names at once, which makes it harder to decipher who the main figures are.

Still, I would certainly recommend the book as a fine historical tale, which is about as close to the truth as we are likely to get. Oh and to find out what happened next, read Caroline Bingham's book on Robert the Bruce.

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing history of Scotland's national hero!
Review: James A Mackay's biography of William Wallace is a must read for anyone interested in heroic exploits. While the William Wallace portrayed by Mackay is different from the version portrayed by Mel Gibson, the discriminating reader will be rewarded. Mackay does a masterful job in researching a figure whose reputation has been clouded throughout history. Due to the linguistics of the Scottish dialect the book initially lags, but the reader will not be disappointed. The author must be commended for bringing to life a figure who was truly "larger than life."

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: There is a lot of mystery surrounding the life and times of William Wallace. A lot of historians, for example, can't decide on where he was born, and the exact date of his birth is unknown, so anybody undertaking a biography of this great man is faced with a dearth of information with which to work. MacKay leans heavily on the minstrel, Blind Harry, for information, but as MacKay is such a noted historian, you can be sure that the information in the book is as close to the truth as you will get, and as such has to be essential reading for anyone who is either undertaking a project, or is just interested in the story of Scotland's national hero. I'd go as far to say that it should be part of the book collection of ANY Scot, either in Scotland, ex - pat, or anybody in the World of Scottish descent.