Gordon Mcdiarmid and I worked together on our respective family histories which resulted in the production of this book, as well as the biography of my grandfather. My grandfather, Thorsteinn Borgford, and Gordon’s great-grandfather, Peter McDiarmid, were partners in a construction business that produced many of the buildings highlighted in this book. Coincidentally, a young Peter McDiarmed emigrated from Scotland in 1887 aboard the SS Buenos Ayrean, the same ship that brought my grandmother, Gudrun, who was ten years old at the time. Gudrun married Thorsteinn Borgford in 1895 and around 1905 Thorsteinn and Peter became business partners. This book is an excellent account of the many construction projects that the McDiarmid brothers completed in their illustrious careers. I am proud to have participated with Gordon in the production of his book which he completed shortly before his death.