In his acting career, John Cairney was described as a living embodiment of Robert Burns, perhaps best known for writing and starring in the 1968 Scottish Television adaptation 'Burns', which was presented as a six week serial. Since then, he has written and performed Burns on all media and at festivals around the world. Cairney's ten books to date include The Man who Played Robert Burns, On the Trail of Robert Burns and The Luath Burns Companion. It can be seen then that he has grown in his knowledge and understanding of Scotland's famous poet in the last thirty years. Into this, his latest book on Burns, he puts his wealth of experience and literary skill, as well as a performer's understanding of what it means to stand up and deliver the most important speech of the Burns year.