| Aberdeen is a city shaped by its geography, climate and architecture. Like the land from which it grew, it projects qualities of hard work and fortitude, firm solidity, a bold self-confidence and soaring aspiration. It is a city with a character and personality that reflects its people. Conservative and 'canny' in some senses, it has often been radical and innovative in its politics and in tackling social issues. This book provides an understanding of the huge changes that have taken place in Aberdeen's economic and social structure over the past 200 years, from the age of textiles to the age of oil. It analyses changes in work patterns, housing, education, economy, social welfare, religion, local government, leisure and culture, and discusses the effects of national and international market forces, periods of instability and high growth, and political struggles. It features many of the people who played an important part in this period of Aberdeen's history. This lavishly illustrated and scholarly history by thirteen leading historians, economists, political scientists and geographers, and with an introduction by the distinguished journalist, James Naughtie, clearly shows that, like its granite buildings, grey in the rain but sparkling afterwards, Aberdeen has survived economic upheavals and the disruption of two world wars, emerging as an independent city with a deep sense of its own worth and values. Contents: List of Illustrations List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables List of Contributors Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Foreword Introduction 1. The Growth of the City 2. People in the City 3. The Nineteenth-Century Economy 4. Survival and Decline: The Economy 1918-1970 5. The Oil Economy 6. Working Life in the City 7. Politics Before 1918 8. Twentieth-Century Politics 9. Local Government 10. Social Welfare: Poverty and Health 11. Housing 12. Education 13. Religion 14. Elite Society 15. Leisure and Culture: The Nineteenth Century 16. Leisure and Social Change: The Twentieth Century 17. The Press 18. Villages and Suburbs Epilogue: The City and its People Notes Index of Names Index of Subjects |