Back cover text:

Now known as the oil capital of Europe, this description does scant justice to a rich history of adventurers, writers and revolutionaries. Historian and Aberdonian-in-exile Ian R Mitchell gives us his Aberdeen, from the easily forgotten days prior to the discovery of North Sea oil to the present day. 'Aberdeen is a hugely intriging place with a unique character, as unique as the granite from which it has been built.' - IAN R MITCHELL From the textiles, shipbuilding and fishing industries of the 19th and 20th centuries to the big questions surrounding the city's post-oil future, Mitchell looks at Aberdeen through the eyes of a one-time loon fae Torry, come home to a city transformed. In his affectionate, though critical, scrutiny of the town he used to know, Mitchell shows us a city to explore, with suggested walks, local history and stories of some of the neglected heroes of Aberdeen. Whether you're newly arrived or have lived here all your life, this book offers glimpses of an Aberdeen rarely seen - a city described by that great North-East writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon as 'exasperatingly loveable'.

Reviews:

So is Ian Mitchell's psychogeographical, intermittently autobiographical, seven-fold daunder beyond and behind the silver city's glitz and glitter a worthy addition to the swelling, shelf-sagging stack of books about Aberdeen? I think it is.  Northwords Now, Spring 2011

So as an Aberdonian in exile, Ian R Mitchell is impeccably placed to pen this honest and thoughtful tribute to the places and people that gave the granite city its unique character, combining the knowledge and understanding of a native with the clear-eyed inquisitiveness of a newcomer... Mitchell has honoured the spirit of [Aberdeen’s] fine, hard-working people with a splendid book... The Press and Journal 

The author recognises his hometown is an often underloved place, but in this book he sets out an overwhelming case as to why this sentiment is undeserved.  Scots Magazine, 2011