Bøker av Iain McLean

Thomas Jefferson's Enlightenment: English, Scottish and French Influences on the Third US President retraces Jefferson's intellectual history. His education in rural Virginia exposed him first to the Latin and Greek classics, then to the political and legal thought of opposition ('country') Whigs from 18th-century England. From his college days, he started to absorb the quite distinct views of the Scottish Enlightenment then the five years he spent in Paris (1784-1789), mostly as American Minister to France, broadened his horizons even more. An enthusiastic amateur scientist, he studied the latest science and liberal politics of his French circle, the most important being the Marquis de Condorcet, whose revolutionary 'social mathematics' was 200 years ahead of its time. The English, Scottish and French perspectives Jefferson was exposed to shaped his thinking in many ways on his return to the US, influencing his own promotion of science as president of the American Philosophical Society and agricultural improver. It shaped his unique views on religion and ethics, up to his very last published letter. However, it failed to eradicate his great blind spot in regard to slavery as the only enslaved people he freed were from his own family.

"Cameron" is a drama set during1990 in the magical light of the Scottish Hebrides and Iona. Based on a true story, the disgraced African footballer, Cameron, escapes to Scotland in search of the grave of the only man his grandmother ever loved. He confronts tribal competitiveness and sexual jealousy. Lost and alone, he is driven towards his goal by the blossoming power of female intent from an independent Claire, a motherly Gwen and a feisty Eleanor. Each knows from their own relationships that, "if you give a man enough rope he'll hang himself". Tales of Celtic myth and legend parallel African myth and legend, a macho island football derby survives a racist inciting sex scandal. There is a controversial birth, a "man o' the mountains" drug-fuelled challenge trophy, a terrifying school lecture on African tribal sex education, a life coaching course run by a Bishop for drug addicted managers from the Nigerian bank of Greece, the coming out of a sixteen year-old computer hacker, and confession by fire; all set alight by the presence of a man who exposes an island people to be a microcosm of what is happening in the world today - Cameron. + Bonus short film script: "Sex & Football". Iain McLean has written screenplays for film production companies in Hollywood, London and Madrid.

Don Quixote Meets His Maker "A sparkling new play... and the ending is a genuine masterstroke of theatre." Oxford Times. A family comedy.Wind Winner of the All-England Theatre Festival of one-act plays."A worthy winner" - Anthony Cornish. A tragedy in one act. The Peacock Shirt First performed in "The Play's the Thing theatre festival at the Lyric Studios, Hammersmith, London. A black comedy.

THIRD EDITION: As featured in The Economist - War On Cancer Conference Europe 2020 - to highlight patient care. "A fantastic new book" - Essential Magazine Marbella. "Brilliant. An inspirational read. I would recommend to anyone affected by cancer or any other life changing illness." - D. Wright, cancer patient Although all the information is scattered around the internet, there is not one single book that covers all the bases - Conventional Treatment, Alternative Therapies, Mind games and Emotions, Diet, Exercise and Love - This book does. Beating cancer is a war and each patient needs all the tools at their disposal, not only to win, but to adapt strategies for each stage in what will be a long campaign. Having talked to a number of doctors, Iain explains how to choose the right hospital and specialist. Of central importance are chapters covering methods of coping, nutrition and ten alternative therapies that will halt tumour growth and alleviate side-effects which Iain used alongside his own treatment. "I've been a professional writer-researcher for 30 years so it makes sense that when I was diagnosed with the highest grade prostate cancer and having beaten it by the following April, I would write a book about it.." Versions are available Kindle and audiobook.

Aberfan - Government & Disaster is widely recognised as the definitive study of the disaster. Following meticulous research of public records - kept confidential by the UK Government's 30-year rule - the authors, in this revised second edition, explain how and why the disaster happened and why nobody was held responsible.

Trading With The A-Line shows anyone in Australia who is of working age, approaching retirement or already retired and looking to increase their financial wealth and improve their lifestyle how to trade shares using a low risk strategy that yields high returns. This book is for anyone who has the aptitude to set aside 30 minutes each weekday and follow a defined set of simple rules.

Scotland faces its biggest choice since the 1707 union "e; should Scotland be an independent country? The Yes and No campaigns are well under way but with the vote looming closer the information available to the public is still limited. The Scottish people will have to make their own judgments, and so they need to have the issues explained as clearly as possible without spin or bias. What will happen after the referendum? How will Westminster and the rest of the UK respond? What happens if the vote is 'No'? Is it even clear what independence will mean? What about the oil? What will the currency be? What will happen to the Old Age Pension pot if the UK splits? Scotland's Choices, now fully revised for the critical last few months before the referendum, tells you everything you need to know before you place your vote. Written by one former civil servant, one academic and one think-tanker one a resident Scot, one a Scot living in England and one an Englishman the authors clearly explain the issues you may not have considered and detail how each of the options would be put into place after the referendum.

Foreword by the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the ExchequerThis book aims to show that Adam Smith (1723-90), the author of The Wealth of Nations, was not the promoter of ruthless laissez-faire capitalism that is still frequently depicted. Smith's "e;right-wing"e; reputation was sealed after his death when it was not safe to claim that an author may have influenced the French revolutionaries. But as the author, also, of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which he probably regarded as his more important book, Smith sought a non-religious grounding for morals, and found it in the principle of sympathy, which should lead an impartial spectator to understand others' problems. This book locates Smith in the Scottish Enlightenment; shows how the two books are perfectly consistent with one another; traces Smith's influence in France and the United States; and draws out the lessons that Adam Smith can teach policy makers in the 21st Century. Although Smith was not a religious man, he was a very acute sociologist of religion. The book accordingly explains the Scottish religious context of Smith's time, which was, as it remains, very different to the English religious context.The whole book is shot through with Iain McLean's love for the Edinburgh of his birth, and for the Scottish Enlightenment. It begins and ends with poems by Smith's great admirer Robert Burns.