There are of course many editions of Burns's poetry available, but sadly most mass-market editions seem more concerned with perpetuating some kind of twee, Brigadoony version of Burns and Scotland. Of the ostensibly scholarly paperback editions of Burns, however, I have not seen anything that comes close to Andrew Noble and Patrick Scott Hogg's for comprehensiveness, annotation, and context. Noble's introduction is brilliant and takes great care to rehabilitate Burns's image by taking him out of the hands of St. Andrew's Society sentimentality and resituating the poet in the political and social climate of his time. Burns was politically radical, sexually promiscuous, and intellectually engaged...all qualities that are effaced by the defanged, Burns supper bardie image that has been so popular with many Scots and Scottish-Americans alike. If you're seriously interested in Burns as a man and a poet, this is the edition you should own. If you want something to dust off once a year on January 25th (along with your kilt, sporran, and bagpipes), go buy one of the editions with the tartan cover.