How did a tiny country plagued by famine, poverty, misery, and misfortune invent the enduring ideals of modern capitalist democracy? Find out in Arthur Herman's best-selling How the Scots Invented the Modern World, an entertaining and illuminating history of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century. With innovations in philosophy, education, commerce, engineering, industry, architecture, town planning, soldiering, administration, medicine, and even tourism, the Scots embarked on nothing less than a massive reordering of human knowledge—a feat that transformed lowly Scotland into the first modern nation and culture. Inside you'll find out:

• How our current democratic system can be traced back to John Knox and the Presbyterian church.
• Why Scottish philosopher David Hume is sometimes considered the "real" author of the U.S. Constitution.
• How Scotland became the first modern literate society in Europe.
• How the Scottish Enlightenment created on of Britain's most enduring legacies—the Encyclopedia Britannica.
• How Scotland invented a system of universal education that became the model for the rest of the world.