John Gunn, Eric Martin, Bob Sinclair and Bill Reid tell of their experiences in the internationally known printing and publishing firm Thomas Nelson and Son, whose Parkside Works on Dalkeith Road was an institution on Edinburgh's Southside until well into the twentieth century. They speak of their employment conditions, work practices, techniques, customs and traditions, and employer-employee relations. Nelsons was not only a place of work but also a social centre with a wealth of social relationships and networks, where 'many marriages were made'. The book conveys what it was like to work in one of the largest printing and publishing houses in Edinburgh, and also a family-run firm interested in the welfare of its workforce.