Product Details

James Bowman - Washington Times

Lavishly illustrated and handsomely produced for no more than the price of most basic hardbacks these days, London is a treat for all lovers of London.

Michael Elliott - Washington Post Book World

[London] deserves to be an instant classic. True London addicts will supplement it with the new edition of The London Encyclopedia by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert, which Porter rightly calls "truly magnificent," but for those looking for a one-volume social history of the city, Porter's book could hardly be bettered.

Martin Daunton - American Historical Review

[A] rich and evocative portrayal of London's teeming life...[A]ny interested historian or educated tourist who wishes to come to London to form a personal opinion should buy Porter's wonderful evocation of this "most possible form of life."

Katherine A. Powers - Boston Sunday Globe

In this big book, London-born Roy Porter presents a social historian's guide to his native city. It is a great piling up of information and contemporary observation from the years that span the two Elizabeths. Porter's aim, which he achieves splendidly, is to show the interaction between the city's people, its economy and the built environment...This truly fine book includes many excellent illustrations.

Dallas Morning News

If you want to know how a great urban area developed, look no further than Roy Porter's exhaustive--but never exhausting--history of London...[An] excellent study.

John R. Stilgoe - New York Times Book Review

In his stunningly successful look at London between the Elizabeths, Roy Porter, a professor of medical history at University College, London, examines his home city not as some stretched-out cadaver but as a form evolving over time: sometimes a cancer, sometimes a monster, a heart, a stripling giant, an unknown disease, a fungus and also always a force, sometimes inorganic, a great tidal sea, a gravitational black hole, an imperial sun...History, not heritage, preoccupies Mr. Porter. His book makes no effort to chronicle the monuments of London building or rank masterpieces of architecture, although it puts coaching taverns and cathedrals into broader contexts...And, most happily, it is not ordinary, late-20th-century urban history, either, for it is acutely, indeed gracefully, written and it transcends the pettiness of scholars jamming facts into theories.

David Cannadine - The Independent

This is much the best and bravest thing [Porter] has yet written. It is important because it makes the whole sweep of London's unique history comprehensible and accessible in a way that no previous writer has ever managed to accomplish...For cities, like nations, can only be understood in an historical perspective. It is that perspective which this book so brilliantly provides. In more senses than one, it is a capital history.

Library Journal

"London was always a muddle that worked." Survivor of plagues, fires, wars, and rulers bordering on (or decidedly) incompetent, this city has always managed to retain at least some of its considerable glory. The question, as posed by Porter (Wellcome Inst. for the History of Medicine) is, "Will London survive, in spite of or because of her history?" In a narrative spanning London's beginnings through the time of Margaret Thatcher, Porter has drawn a dense picture of a complex city. Bogged down with the weight of too many details, with a focus too scattered and confused to do the question justice, this book leaves one wishing for the thorough grounding in English history that would make things come clear. For a colorful, accessible resource, turn to the Times' "London History Atlas" (LJ 3/92). Possibly useful as a secondary source for larger academic libraries. [For another recent book on London, see John Russell's "London", LJ 10/15/94.-Ed.] -Nancy L. Whitfield, Meriden P.L., Conn.

School Library Journal

A detailed analysis of London's growth from a Roman town to a modern metropolis. The chronological arrangement of the chapters makes it easy to pull out specific time periods. The Victorian age gets special emphasis. The details of everyday life, values, and work ethics can be difficult to locate elsewhere. An up-to-date synthesis of diverse writings about the city provides a social history. The primary sources included make it possible to feel a part of the events. Black-and-white, engravinglike illustrations provide a pictorial overview. Although the reading level may challenge some YAs, it is appropriate for most students of English literature and history.- Arlene Hoebel, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents