This book celebrates the 185th anniversary of Wärtsilä brings together the stories of Wärtsilä's history from the past 50 years. It is based on the interviews with 59 individuals who have played various roles in and around the company from industrialists to chauffeurs and engineers to salesmen. The book depicts the last decades the way the people who have been part of creating the new Wärtsilä experienced them.

Of machines and people is not a traditional version of a company's history opus. It is an easy-to-read visual journey to the past decades of the Finnish society filled with personal anecdotes and stories.