Half a century ago, most of North Bucks was in agricultural use. The small railway town of Wolverton, developed in the 19th century, was the only town of any significance, although smaller market towns such as Stony Stratford, Olney, Newport Pagnell and Fenny Stratford might quarrel with that assessment. Bletchley had developed at a pace since the end of World War II.

In the 1960s the government was seeking to build a large new town to accommodate a rising population. Several locations were considered but North Bucks seemed to be leading the way, and in January 1967 the new town, to be named Milton Keynes, was announced.

Since then the new town has reached its projected target population of 250,000 and is still growing.

John Taylor has embarked on a series of books describing the genesis of Milton Keynes and will be completed in three or four volumes. Volume 1, Decision, details the political wrangling leading u to the January 1967 decision; Volume 2, The Master Plan, describes how the Development Corporation and leading town planners developed a framework and a plan for the new town. Further volumes will detail the implementation and development of the new town.

Volume 1: Decision was published in hardcover in January 2017 and in paperback the following year. Both are in print: Hardcover: ISBN: 9781909054400 £20; Paperback: ISBN: 9781909054455 £11.99

Volume 2: The Master Plan is published in hardcover in 2019. A paperback edition will follow next year. ISBN: 9781909054592 £20