'Conscientious, thorough and revelatory in many respects. Additionally the book is well designed, the relevant photograph placed ideally by its correspondence in the text over and over again. In terms of the content generally, what comes across forcefully is the coming together of a complex society, the formative experience of a seminal century, the extraordinary
degree - scale and intensity - of the philanthropic spirit, the goodwill and the appetite for enlightenment and improvement - this linked to the dynamic of the industrial revolution - to the realisation of the forces which came to govern the following century. 'The molecular advance of both human sentiment and material innovation - so faithfully and extensively, so meticulously recorded in the book.
'The cumulative effect of reading it - the depiction of a unique period in human history where enlightenment, at all levels and in different directions, gained the upper hand, demonstrably and vividly so.'

David Storey

' Making of Wakefield is a fascinating chronicle of the growth of the city with some marvellous photographs and archival material. I found it very interesting and informative.'

Customer- Joanne Harris