John Stuart Blackie was one of the most impressive and influential figures of nineteenth-century Scotland, as well as one of the most striking and flamboyant. As an intellectual he translated Goethe's Faust and brought first-hand knowledge of German philosophy to Scotland as a means of keeping the Enlightenment tradition alive. As first Professor of Humanity at Aberdeen from 1839 to 1852 and then as Professor of Greek at Edinburgh until 1882, he played a, perhaps the, central role in modernising the Scottish university curriculum, removing the dead hand of theological orthodoxy, raising standards (and the entry age), introducing tutorial teaching and establishing new chairs (including the Edinburgh chair of Celtic). His role in the reform of secondary school teaching was equally central. But Blackie was also a great 'public man', corresponding with great and famous throughout Great Britain and Europe, from Goethe and Carlyle to Ruskin and Gladstone, and filling the pages of newspapers and journals with writings on the major issues of the day. For the last thirty years of his life he became closely involved in issues of Scottish nationalism and home rule, and as champion of the crofters is largely responsible for their contemporary survival and unique status. Despite the existence of a rich archive of his papers and letters, there has been only one book devoted to his life: The Life of Professor John Stuart Blackie, the most distinguished Scotsman of the day, edited by J. G. Duncan and published in 1895.

Language of the Earth is a collection of essays that provides a particular category of and describes the current content in each area of earth science. The book reviews various aspects of geological knowledge, including the characters, motives, and attitudes of certain individuals who have made contributions in this field. Case studies of eyewitness accounts of geological phenomena include the Turtle Mountain slide, the Lisbon earthquake, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the eruption of the Oraefajokull in 1727. The text also discusses some geological controversies such as the footprints in red sandstone, as well as geological philosophies concerning estimates of time since the Earth has existed. The book cites 3000-year old Chinese records chronicling earthquake activity; it also discusses earthquakes and the hypothesis of continental drift. The text then explains the many ways in which geology can relate to the person—in his approach to his work, the personal touch. Geology is shown in terms of its relation to prose, poetry, and sometimes, humor, as in the discovery of the "petrified woman." This book can offer a light and entertaining respite for geologists, historians, students or professors of the earth sciences, and for general readers interested in personal accounts of some geological discoveries.