"A powerful, persuasive and long overdue account of the personalities who have shaped and sustained modern Scottish nationalism since its foundations a century ago." - Ian Jack, writer and journalist; "This book provides a fascinating backdrop to the interesting political times Scotland now faces and the characters that lived the dream that has never died." - Kenny MacAskill, former SNP minister and former MSP; "A fascinating journey through eighty years of Scottish political history, full of insights and lessons for us all. Scholarly and thorough, but also creditably human." - John Harris, The Guardian; "Each of the men and women who guided the SNP, as diverse in temperament as the talents of the authors who bring them to life in this remarkable book, made decisions which still mark the party. Their life sketches, and those of a score of others, make this book an absorbing argument for how human agency, with spoonfuls of sheer luck, can construct political triumph." - Neal Ascherson, author of Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland