A decade in the making, Russell Skeet's retelling of the story of John Read, founder of the iconic Read Bros Hardware, melds biography with history and serves as a valuable and fascinating story of the post-colonial development of Thames. "I hope this story about John Read, a timber merchant, may add to readers' interest in the history of Thames - the business economy based on gold mining, timber, shipping, plus the connections between business and community leaders in the early years of the town. May this story inspire others to take a personal interest in their whakapapa (genealogy) and turangawaewae (ancestral home)." - Russell Skeet.