For a relatively small nation, Scotland certainly hasn't been short of radicals. Over the centuries, the country has produced revolutionary and reforming ideas, ideals and behaviours that have changed the world we live in. From football to philosophy, from scientists to soldiers, Scots have made a huge and disproportionate contribution to world transformation. Inventors and medics, rock stars and comedians have all played their part in making Scotland and the world very different. Peace campaigners and warriors sit side by side within these pages; poets and politicians rub shoulders. Not all radicals can be successful and there are those whose dreams were never realised. But in these pages, one hundred and thirty-eight Scots, some known internationally, some unknown in their own street, find a home.

Ron Culley is a prodigious writer whose books adorn shelves and mantelpieces everywhere. Whether writing on Scottish politics, travel, biographies or investigations, he does so with no little wit and with huge integrity. He lives in Glasgow's leafy southside with his wife and two dogs. He has four boys and four grandchildren.