Samuel Johnson and James Boswell spent the autumn of 1773 touring through the Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland as far west as the islands of Skye, Raasay, Coll, Mull, Inchkenneth and Iona. Both kept detailed notes of their impressions, and later published separate accounts of their journey. These works contain some of the finest pieces of travel writing ever produced: they are also magnificent historical documents as well as portraits of two extraordinary men of letters. Together they paint a vivid picture of a society which was still almost unknown to the Europe of the Enlightenment. Entertaining, profound, and marvellously readable, they are a valuable chronicle of a lost age and a fascinating people. For the first time, Ronald Black's edition brings together Johnson's and Boswell's accounts of each of the six stages of the two men's journey - Lowlands, Skye, Coll, Mull and back to the mainland. Illustrated with prints by Thomas Rowlandson, it includes a critical introduction, translations of the Latin texts and brief notes.

John Gregorson Campbell (1834-91) was one of the most outstanding folklorists working in Scotland during the nineteenth century. Based on materials which he had gathered in the 1850s and 1860s, his Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands were published posthumously in 1900 and 1902. Engagingly written in an anecdotal style, they introduce us to a galaxy of fairies, witches, ghosts and supernatural creatures, as well as general superstitions and the beliefs and rituals of the traditional calendar. Having been written as a single work, they are now reunited as one volume. In a lively introduction, Ronald Black illuminates Campbell's work with extensive explanatory notes and a radically revised biography of the collector, supported by bibliography, maps and index.

An Lasair (The Flame) is a colorful new anthology of over sixty poems from one of the most dynamic periods of Gaelic literature. Arranged chronologically and edited with facing translations by Ronald Black, these poems, composed in a range of forms and styles, span the whole gamut of human experience, from politics, religion and war to love, sex and domestic life. Together they form a rich celebration of Gaelic culture and provide a fascinating insight into the passions and preoccupations of the Highland people during a turbulent period of their history. An Lasair features the work of over forty poets, and includes extensive notes and an introduction, which set the poems firmly in their literary and historical contexts.

Poetry is something that we all share, each time that we think a thought. We think in poetry, only some of us are not able to put it in words but thoughts of poetry live in our hearts. We are filled with emotions and that is what poetry is. You need to just open your heart to the words written for they are the words coming from a heart just like you. From our pain and our sacrifices to our joy and happiness, when you read this we will be able to see that we are all the same seeking love and a dream that we can claim. There are times when we may feel lost and there is nothing that we can do. The truth is that there will always be options for us to choose. Only with our ever changing emotions at the time we are blind to see. For every action there is an opposite reaction. There are things that we know that we can do yet we get caught up in the things that we are going through. There are times when we are happy and times when we are sad. It is a delicate balance in the lives that we live. Each of us will need to come to grips with the way that we feel. We are never alone although we think at the time that we are alone. We need to find the courage to reach out and say that we are here. Is there anyone out there that care about the lives that we live? At the end of the day if we listen closely we will be able to hear a voice saying that I am here, you are not alone. Ever changing emotions is what will live in our hearts. We just have to decide the things that we want to do and find the courage to follow them through. The Life that I have had to live has been very difficult but the love in my heart kept me strong even when I sometimes may have felt alone. I have cried my share of tears and I have suffered many years but I kept the love in my heart. We are human and we make mistakes but as long as we live there will always be another road for us to take. I pray that the poems that you are reading help you to understand that we all go through life's ever changing emotions. We have to live in the moment and if that moment continues to last then we should remember that our lives are made up of our past, present and our future. For as long as we live we can change the way that we feel. Love and forgiveness is what we should always hold most precious in our lives. Love and forgiveness can forever live in our hearts. Poetry is something that we all share, each time that we think a thought. We think in poetry, only some of us are not able to put it in words but thoughts of poetry live in our hearts. We are filled with emotions and that is what poetry is. You need to just open your heart to the words written for they are the words coming from a heart just like you. From our pain and our sacrifices to our joy and happiness, when you read this we will be able to see that we are all the same seeking love and a dream that we can claim.

Poetry is something that we all share, each time that we think a thought. We think in poetry, only some of us are not able to put it in words but thoughts of poetry live in our hearts. We are filled with emotions and that is what poetry is. You need to just open your heart to the words written for they are the words coming from a heart just like you. From our pain and our sacrifices to our joy and happiness, when you read this we will be able to see that we are all the same seeking love and a dream that we can claim.

In the course of his long poem An Airce, 'The Ark', the Jacobite poet Alexander MacDonald shows the Campbells being subjected to trial by water for the part they played in defeating Prince Charles's army in 1745-6. Some will be drowned outright, he says, some just given a good ducking - and some will be honourably treated. He names forty individuals; Ronald Black puts their lives and deeds under the microscope to see how far they deserved their allotted fate. The result is a well-balanced portrait of the leading men of Argyll in the eighteenth century and a refreshingly new perspective on one of the most colourful episodes in Scottish history: the rising of the '45 as seen through the eyes of Highlanders who helped to crush it. The Campbells of the Ark includes a detailed study of the sixty-three locally based companies of the Argyllshire Militia of 1745-6, covering every corner of this fascinating county, from Kintyre to Ardnamurchan, from Islay to Genorchy.