For the author as a boy, Shire horses held a huge fascination. In his childhood, these gentle giants were the powerhouses of farms in Yorkshire's East Riding where he grew up. They worked alongside steam engines in the early twentieth century, but with the advent of the tractor, their days were numbered. Beautifully detailed, this storehouse of family lore and the changing face of the land, together with its people and their trades and livestock, is a treasure chest of valuable information. It will be a source of delight to those who can recall the days when Shire horses still worked on English soil, and to those who are young enough to view such things as history.