The Way It Was provides a pictorial social history of North West Oxfordshire as it was around the turn of the twentieth-century up until World War II.

To reflect the different aspects of rural life in the early part of the twentieth-century The Way It Was has been divided into the following chapters:

Each chapter contains postcards and photographs complete with captions that are typically several sentences in length. Thorough research and considerable thought have gone into the development of each caption. This has ensured that the text is not only factually correct, but also that it captures the atmosphere of each scene and gives the book a coherent feel. In total there are over one hundred and ten postcards and photographs. Many of the images are collectable and do not appear in other local history publications.

The Way It Was also contains an introduction, map, bibliography and town and village index. 

The Way It Was provides an intriguing and unique insight into this closely connected region as it was in the early decades of the twentieth-century.