At its peak in the years before the Great War the Scottish shale oil industry gave employment to some 10,000 people and was a major factor in the economy of the Lothians, particularly in the Almond valley, from Tarbrax to Dalmeny. The history of its development has largely been neglected, yet Scotland was one of the few countries in which the shale oil industry ever became a successful commercial venture. This book tells the history of the development of this unique industry for the first time.