Book excerpt: The story of Dundee is both fascinating and dramatic. Now, in Dundee – A Short History, Norman Watson brings to life the people and events that shaped this great city from its origins and early development, through centuries of poverty and prosperity to the golden years of jute, jam and journalism and beyond. In this absorbing and comprehensive history, meet the women who hijacked the Reformation, the sisters who terrorised Winston Churchill, the martyred George Wishart who kept only his hat, the whalerman James McIntosh who ate his to survive, and witness Shackleton’s remarkable expedition to far-north Dundee and the flights of fancy surrounding Preston Watson. And after tragic events like Monk’s massacre and the Tay Bridge disaster, the city’s extraordinary story sparkles into life again with its brilliant cultural renaissance and dramatic change of fortunes. Dundee – A Short History is an acclaimed and authoritative account of the remarkable story of one of Scotland’s greatest cities.