Capital Of The Mind [Paperback]

Anyone who has been to Edinburgh might be surprised to think that just a few centuries ago the city occupied little more than one street down the slope of a rocky hill. And yet in this fine book (which I purchased in that city while on vacation), James Buchan captures not only the intellectual and social ferment in Edinburgh during the decades after Culloden, but also the physical escape from that stifling geography that paralleled the mental liberation. It's a combination that on this Burns Night seems a very good way to celebrate the sometimes underestimated influence of Scots culture and learning on the world.

My paperback copy of "Capital of the Mind" includes on the cover an endorsement blurb from Irvine Welsh of the Guardian (or "Grauniad," as Private Eye would have it) that this is "an utterly compelling and captivating work." I have to admit I don't entirely agree. In fact, I found the first few chapters somewhat unengaging, though I admit that could be more a matter of taste and I recognize the importance of those chapters in setting the stage for what came later. It was only around page 100 or so, when the intellectual blossoming really began to take place with David Hume and Adam Smith that I was drawn into the story more completely.

Still, I don't think that Buchan's look at intellectual and social history is necessarily for everyone. Simon Winchester, for example, is I think a better pure storyteller, de gustibus non est disputandum. But there's also no disputing the importance of Buchan's story, or his undoubted skill as a researcher and writer. Whether you're interested in Edinburgh and Scots culture, or tracing the currents of intellectual history and the particular influence of that city's unique mix of Calvinism and skepticism, idealism and common sense, "Capital of the Mind" has a lot to recommend it.

Some years ago I travelled through India and Pakistan and was impressed by the scale and durability of much of the infrastructure built by the British Raj over a century ago. As is the way of monument builders, there was often a plaque to commemorate the opening of these structures. More often than not, Scots played a prominent role in their construction.

I often wondered why Scottish engineers, soldiers and administrators were so prominent among Britain's empire builders. This book provides insights into some of the answers.

The non-conformist Kirk promoted rationalism, education, discipline and a sense of duty which drove much of empire building. Less positive, but also crucial to empire, were occasional streaks of fanaticism and intolerance.

The social and political disasters of the first half of the 18th century swept away old ways of life and thought, which were replaced by the new thinkers and an influx of English ways. The old highland social order was largely destroyed and in many cases tenants were forced off the land to starve or seek a new life in Scotland or the new colonies.

Edinburgh became the most celebrated centre for medical education in the world. Edinburgh graduates came to predominate in the army, navy and the government of India.

But Edinburgh flourished intellectually and technically in many areas in the second half of the 18th century and its remarkable thinkers exerted a powerful world-wide impact. David Hume (philosophy), Adam Smith (economics), Joseph Black (chemistry), James Hutton (geology) and James Watt (steam technology) are just a few of these people who literally changed the way we think and work.

The book has the mandatory chapter on women. However, in this case it is not just self-serving political correctness. Scotland had some remarkable women in this period. Anne Mackintosh, for example, brought 600 men to support the Prince against her husband's wishes "a pistol in her hand and money in the other."

"Capital of the Mind" devotes a lot of space to the arts, but does not do justice to science and technology. Hutton, for one,deserves more than a cursory treatment of his epochal contributions to geology. After all, he was one of the founders of modern geology. The comings and goings of the poet Burns, on the other hand, are described in minute detail, even down to his daily changes of accomodation while visiting Edinburgh.

This book is packed with facts, especially the descriptive earlier chapters. Often the facts and minute detail obscure the broader issues the book deals with. There are sufficient colour pictures of the main personalities and general views of the town, but not a single map or even a town plan.

The absence of plans and maps might seem a trivial criticism, but it is not when the author relies heavily on the names of places, streets and even buildings to tell the story. Even a Scot might have challenge to follow the detailed geographical twists and turns without an atlas by his side.

For those who have had their fair share of reading about the Scottish Enlightenment, you may think this is just another work written in a similar vein.

However,the beauty of this work is that it places so many of the great Scotish characters - Hume, Smith, Blair, Hutchinson and so on- into both a historic and even architectural context.You almost feel you are walking the sheets and frequenting the taverns and meeting places with these mighty, yet very human, men.

For example, so often we forget that Hume just followed on from the times of Bonnie Prince Charles and was writting at the time when the kirk held such social and political sway over everyday thought and life in Scotland.

This book brings history alive and by placing our heroes in their social context, helps us to better visualize the times into which these great men from Scotland spoke.

A great read! Upon opening this book, I was completely anti-social until the last page!

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