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Ian McIntyre's biography gives a careful analysis of Burn's songs and poetry and strips away the legend to explore what lies beneath. The figure that emerges is sharper, less idealized, perhaps more truly great, than in any previous biography.
In The Death of the American Trial, distinguished legal scholar Robert P. Burns makes an impassioned case for reversing the rapid decline of the trial before we lose one of our public culture’s greatest achievements. As a practice that is adapted for modern times yet rooted in ancient wisdom, the trial is uniquely suited to balance the tensions—between idealism and realism, experts and citizens, contextual judgment and reliance on rules—that define American culture. Arguing that many observers make a grave mistake by taking a complacent or even positive view of the trial’s demise, Burns concludes by laying out the catastrophic consequences of losing an institution that so perfectly embodies democratic governance.
Ian McIntyre's biography, published to mark the bicentenary of Burns's death, strips away myth and legend and explores what lies beneath. It is based meticulously on documentary and archival sources, and uses only the first-hand testimony of those who knew the man. It sets Burns in his historical context, and paints both his emotional life and his political views in vivid colours. On public matters he had no difficulty in holding simultaneously two views that were contradictory. In his private life he could be effortlessly in love with several women at the same time, appallingly cruel one moment, wonderfully tender the next. McIntyre offers a more extensive evaluation of Burns's songs and poetry than most previous biographers. He stresses the importance and quality of the satirical verse, as well as the haunting love poems for which Scotland's 'bard' is best known. In an illuminating final chapter, he examines the extraordinary ramifications assumed after the death of the poet by the Burns legend, a fantastical 'afterlife' bearing little resemblance to biographical reality.
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In this definitive work for our generation, Donald Low brings together, for the first time, the words and tunes of all Burns' known songs, both `polite' and bawdy. The Songs of Robert Burns were, in their author's eyes, the crown of his achievement as a poet. After years of study and investigation, many hours spent listening to old airs, as he recalled the living, daily, song-life of the people of Scotland, and through the creation of some of the finest lyric poetry produced in the British Isles, Burns' success is beyond doubt.
In 1801, some five years after Robert Burns' death, nine of his friends sat down to dinner in what is now known as Burns Cottage in Alloway to celebrate his extraordinary life and to give thanks for his friendship. Over the years the informal theme from that evening has developed into the ritual known as Burns Night. This best-selling book is the essential guide for anyone intending to hold or attend a Burns Night of any size. In addition to setting out the order of events for the evening, the Burns Supper Companion also offers fascinating insights into the traditions surrounding Burns Night. Nancy Marshall has spent a large part of her life living and working in Edinburgh. She read English Literature and Medieval History at Edinburgh University, going on to write widely about Scottish song and the poems and songs of Robert Burns.