"This is a delightful yet also definitive biography of a polyglot, a barrister, a legal mind, a philologist, and a linguist, labelled by Cannon (and everyone else, for that matter) as 'the father of modern linguistics'...well-written, entirely new...No one knows more about Jones than Cannon, who has displayed his breathtaking knowledge in full in this exciting story...Cannon's literary triumph is equally matched by Jones's linguistic achievements." World

• Preface; Introduction; Chronology of Jones's life; 1. A barbanic oriental conqueror (to 1770); 2. Delicate Arab maidens and liquid ruby (1770–1772); 3. Persian Jones and constitutional law (1772–1777); 4. The athenian and eleutherion (1778–1780); 5. An ass laden with gold (1780); 6. Politics: writings and activism (1780–1782); 7. James River property (1782–1783); 8. A vision in the Indian Ocean (1783–1785); 9. A sacred oriental language (1785); 10. A genetic explanation: Indo-European (1786–1787); 11. Sanskrit literary treasures (1787–1788); 12. An Indian renaissance (1789); 13. A burning tropical sun (1790–1791); 14. Scholar-Martyr (1791–1794); 15. Jones today; Appendix; Notes; Selected bibliography; Index.

"This is a delightful yet also definitive biography of a polyglot, a barrister, a legal mind, a philologist, and a linguist, labelled by Cannon (and everyone else, for that matter) as 'the father of modern linguistics'...well-written, entirely new...No one knows more about Jones than Cannon, who has displayed his breathtaking knowledge in full in this exciting story...Cannon's literary triumph is equally matched by Jones's linguistic achievements." World

• Preface; Introduction; Chronology of Jones's life; 1. A barbanic oriental conqueror (to 1770); 2. Delicate Arab maidens and liquid ruby (1770–1772); 3. Persian Jones and constitutional law (1772–1777); 4. The athenian and eleutherion (1778–1780); 5. An ass laden with gold (1780); 6. Politics: writings and activism (1780–1782); 7. James River property (1782–1783); 8. A vision in the Indian Ocean (1783–1785); 9. A sacred oriental language (1785); 10. A genetic explanation: Indo-European (1786–1787); 11. Sanskrit literary treasures (1787–1788); 12. An Indian renaissance (1789); 13. A burning tropical sun (1790–1791); 14. Scholar-Martyr (1791–1794); 15. Jones today; Appendix; Notes; Selected bibliography; Index.

"This is a delightful yet also definitive biography of a polyglot, a barrister, a legal mind, a philologist, and a linguist, labelled by Cannon (and everyone else, for that matter) as 'the father of modern linguistics'...well-written, entirely new...No one knows more about Jones than Cannon, who has displayed his breathtaking knowledge in full in this exciting story...Cannon's literary triumph is equally matched by Jones's linguistic achievements." World

• Preface; Introduction; Chronology of Jones's life; 1. A barbanic oriental conqueror (to 1770); 2. Delicate Arab maidens and liquid ruby (1770–1772); 3. Persian Jones and constitutional law (1772–1777); 4. The athenian and eleutherion (1778–1780); 5. An ass laden with gold (1780); 6. Politics: writings and activism (1780–1782); 7. James River property (1782–1783); 8. A vision in the Indian Ocean (1783–1785); 9. A sacred oriental language (1785); 10. A genetic explanation: Indo-European (1786–1787); 11. Sanskrit literary treasures (1787–1788); 12. An Indian renaissance (1789); 13. A burning tropical sun (1790–1791); 14. Scholar-Martyr (1791–1794); 15. Jones today; Appendix; Notes; Selected bibliography; Index.