Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: the ultimate oral history of The office

Preface. How did we get here? / by Brian Baumgartner

"Okay, here's the pitch" : the Office travels across the Atlantic

"Scranton hot" : casting the lovable misfits of Dunder Mifflin

"Everything that makes it harder makes it better" : making the pilot

"Let me tell you why this isn't going to work" : making season one

"The office needed a billion things to go right" : the emotional roller coaster of season two

"John and I are not a couple" : the office love stories

"Inheritors of the history of comedy" : the comedy tropes that inspired and shaped the Office : season three

"I don't care, fire me!" : Inside the Office writers' room . . . And the writers strike that nearly ended the show : season four

"The moment that my life changed" : a wedding, new hires (and losses), and other shake-ups : seasons five and six

"Losing the captain of our ship" : the long goodbye for Michael Scott (and Steve Carell) : season seven

"Who should be the boss?" : The search for a new Dunder Mifflin regional manager : seasons eight and nine

"It's a wrap" : the series finale

"Beauty in ordinary things" : the legacy of the Office.