Meticulous research by the author coupled with outstanding images make this book a treasure house of knowledge and nostalgia about the town whose identity has been carried all across the world by the shawl pattern which bears its name. Illustrations dating as far back as the the late seventeenth century give way to a stunning collection of photographs which range from the early nineteenth right through to the late twentieth century encompassing every aspect of town life. From the Tollbooth Steeple drawn by Slezer in 1693, the first Abbey Bridge in 1826, the sample room of the Shawl Warehouse in the late 1870s, the St. Mirren football team of 1882, Barshaw Tennis Courts in 1925, the Kelburnie Cinema in 1933 through to the Coronation crowds of 1953, the flood in Stockholm Crescent in 1963 and celebrations at St. Mirren in 1987, this book capture the town and the folk who lived there in picturesque detail. A must have for Paisley natives and visitors alike.