Tom Devine is the Sir William Fraser Chair of Scottish History and Palaeography in The University of Edinburgh, having previously held Professorships at Strathclyde and Aberdeen.

He has published many books and articles on Scottish history of which the most recent are Clearance and Improvement: Land, Power and People in Scotland (2006) and a new edition of his bestseller, The Scottish Nation, updated to cover the period 1700 - 2007, to coincide with the tercentenary of the Union of 1707.