The Dictionary of British Housebuilders comprises 141 individual company histories of housebuilding firms spanning the whole of the twentieth century. These histories provide a fascinating outlook on housebuilding in the UK. Within the histories lie the start of sheltered housing (McCarthy & Stone); partnership housing (Lovell/Rendell); the vanished (Berg, Nash); the bankrupt (Morrell Estates, David Charles, Federated Homes); the over-ambitious (Northern Developments, Beazer); and the abandoned (nearly every contractor you can think of). The majority of companies are no longer with us, but there is also ample coverage of those still building houses in the twenty-first century, from Abbey to Wimpey.