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Compelling biography of John Maclean, the ‘hero of Red Clydeside’

John Maclean
by Henry Bell
(Pluto Press, £14.99)

AS THE 100th anniversary of the infamous Battle of George Square in Glasgow approaches, there will be much ink spilt about Red Clydeside and Henry Bell's timely book on John Maclean is a welcome contribution to the centenary commemorations.

Radical icon: John Maclean

Like any worthy biography, it's as much a biography of the milieu in which the subject lived. In this case, we get a portrait of Scotland's modernity —  one of rapid urbanisation and its discontents — refracted through the figure of Maclean.

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