In 125 years Chelmsford has changed from a small county town dependent on the local agricultural economy into, firstly, a renowned centre for industry and now a rapidly expanding industrialised city. At their peak during the second war Chelmsford's big firms employed 30,000 people. A newcomer to the city will unfortunately find very little evidence that Marconi, Crompton, Christy and Hoffman were ever even here but this fascinating book looks not only at the lives of these men and the firms they established but how the latter affected nearly all aspects of life in the town. The book also deals with how the town adapted to the decline of its world famous firms and the mistakes made by planners and those running Chelmsford, which led to a markedly different evolution compared with other Essex and East Anglian towns and cities. The book includes all economic, social and political aspects of the town's development using a topic approach. It covers life in Chelmsford during both the first and second world wars. It will be of particular interest to the many people who spent their adult lives working for the big firms. The book has been written for the general layman rather than just those with technical knowledge of the town's previous industry. It is intended not only to be a work of reference but also a readable general history.