The United Kingdom remains a central point in any historical study of the Western European tradition, but did not take on its present configuration until 1920. The Historical Dictionary of the United Kingdom Volume 2: Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is an excellent guide to the history of its three important regions, as well as its creation.

The United Kingdom can only be understood as an evolution of its component parts. The first volume of the Dictionary focused on the United Kingdom's most prominent part, England. This second volume fleshes out the entire United Kingdom by directing the reader's attention toward Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; regions which are often overshadowed by England but contain a great deal of the cultural, social, and political diversity of the United Kingdom. Not only does the second volume focus on the specifics of each individual region, their economy, cultural traditions, and history, but it also investigates how these areas came together and interacted with one another under the umbrella of the United Kingdom.

The Dictionary begins with a chronology of the United Kingdom, but one that highlights different aspects, issues, and events that have impacted upon these three regions. An introduction provides a wonderful overview to the problems these three regions faced concerning their inclusion in a nation and simultaneous attempts to preserve regional character. The volume does not hesitate to outline the turmoil that exists between national and regional identity. Its entries include people, events, institutions, places, as well as political, economic, and cultural themes important to the history of the United Kingdom. Helpful maps, abbreviations, and chronologies are included.