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Review
Prefixed 'Amazing and Extraordinary' this fun-packed and well-designed publication certainly lives up to the title. --Rail Express Magazine
"…a fascinating and useful reference work" --Civil Service Pensioner's Alliance
"…entertaining and informative book." --Practical Family History
A fascinating pocket book which will tell you all you need to know about London Underground, and even more that you don't need to know but will find equally as fascinating Hours of fun to pass the time for the commuter! --Heritage Railway
"…entertaining and informative book." --Practical Family History
"…a fascinating and useful reference work" --Civil Service Pensioner's Alliance
"…entertaining and informative book." --Practical Family History
A fascinating pocket book which will tell you all you need to know about London Underground, and even more that you don't need to know but will find equally as fascinating Hours of fun to pass the time for the commuter! --Heritage Railway
"…entertaining and informative book." --Practical Family History
Product Description
This is a fascinating and useful reference to the history of the London Underground that reveals new insights into the history of the iconic transport system - the perfect gift for commuters, tourists and railway enthusiasts alike. For anyone who has lived, worked, visited or even passed through London, the tube is one of the iconic and defining characteristics of the city. "Amazing & Extraordinary London Underground Facts" takes you from the famous roundel symbol and standing on the right of the escalators, to the instantly recognisable and hugely influential route map. This title helps to discover the tales of the building of the first lines in the mid-nineteenth century and the steam trains that ran along them, the ever expanding network of routes, the abandoned ghost stations, the notorious incidents and colourful characters that have all played a part in the amazing and extraordinary history of the London Underground.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I previously purchased the same author's Water: A Turbulent History, and was pleased to find one of the same author's books available through Amazon Vine(tm). However, unlike that earlier book, this one only gives a very basic history of the subject. I knew that when I chose the book, but even so I feel that it could have been better.
It works as a basic facts book for people wanting to get a sense of the history of the system, but no more than that. Its small size makes it handy for reading on trains, even those underground trains that were the book's inspiration, though of course you would have difficulty reading it during the rush hour with everybody fighting for space.
There are some amusing stories about smells and mosquitoes, while the tragedies at Moorgate and King's Cross are both covered, though not in any depth. There are pieces about the men who financed and/or managed the system in its early days, though these stories are of necessity incomplete.
A good book in many ways, it is nevertheless something of a tease. I am sure that the author could do better if he were to write a proper in-depth book. But wait - Christian Wolmar has already written that book The Subterranean Railway : How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever so we don't need another such book, at least not yet. If you really want to learn about the history of the London underground, that's the book to go for.
It works as a basic facts book for people wanting to get a sense of the history of the system, but no more than that. Its small size makes it handy for reading on trains, even those underground trains that were the book's inspiration, though of course you would have difficulty reading it during the rush hour with everybody fighting for space.
There are some amusing stories about smells and mosquitoes, while the tragedies at Moorgate and King's Cross are both covered, though not in any depth. There are pieces about the men who financed and/or managed the system in its early days, though these stories are of necessity incomplete.
A good book in many ways, it is nevertheless something of a tease. I am sure that the author could do better if he were to write a proper in-depth book. But wait - Christian Wolmar has already written that book The Subterranean Railway : How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever so we don't need another such book, at least not yet. If you really want to learn about the history of the London underground, that's the book to go for.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
London Underground Facts is a bit like an Underground Schott's Miscelleny - a book designed to be sold at Christmas as a gift for people who don't read books. It looks good - a beautiful red white and blue art deco dust jacket; small; thick paper. The format is magaziney - text boxes, lists, bullet points, random quotes, pictures and heaps of white space for resting the eyes. The content has nothing new, it is simply culled from the many existing Underground reference books and presented in a much abbreviated form. Although there is an index setting out different sections, there is no logic to the sections. Why would Wartime Underground precede Metroland? Why would Poetry On the Underground come between them both? And even within sections, we find a blurb about Public Private Partnerships immediately before a potted biography of Herbert Morrison (Transport Minister in 1929).
The book is short, too. 143 pages - 6 of which are an index and the text actually starts on page 6, so that makes 132 pages of actual text. Throw in several pages that are little more than route maps for each line (badly drawn by freehand with spelling mistakes - Surrey Keys, Edgeware Road...), the same five drawings repeated over and over again, and a couple of blank pages... You get the idea: it's thin.
However, I guess the target market is people who are stuck for gift ideas, and it won't actually offend anyone. Indeed, I can imagine that in the right setting - perhaps in a small room where one tends to be alone, looking for amusement in small, 2 minute chunks then this fits the bill. Just like Schott's Miscelleny; Crap Towns; The Little Book Of Calvin and all its illustrious forerunners.
Judging it for what it aspires to be, 3 stars seems fair. Had it had a point or a structure - or anything new to say - it would have deserved more. But as it doesn't really offend, it probably doesn't deserve less.
The book is short, too. 143 pages - 6 of which are an index and the text actually starts on page 6, so that makes 132 pages of actual text. Throw in several pages that are little more than route maps for each line (badly drawn by freehand with spelling mistakes - Surrey Keys, Edgeware Road...), the same five drawings repeated over and over again, and a couple of blank pages... You get the idea: it's thin.
However, I guess the target market is people who are stuck for gift ideas, and it won't actually offend anyone. Indeed, I can imagine that in the right setting - perhaps in a small room where one tends to be alone, looking for amusement in small, 2 minute chunks then this fits the bill. Just like Schott's Miscelleny; Crap Towns; The Little Book Of Calvin and all its illustrious forerunners.
Judging it for what it aspires to be, 3 stars seems fair. Had it had a point or a structure - or anything new to say - it would have deserved more. But as it doesn't really offend, it probably doesn't deserve less.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This small book has an assortment of interesting facts scattered through the pages, but also much white space and several instances of repetition. I think skimpy is an appropriate word here.
I felt the drawings were decidedly amateurish, and almost might have been sketches intended for a proper artist to clean up and present properly. The break-out boxes were largely wasted, and the thumbnail pictures were repeated far too often - better used just the once.
It feels rushed and cheap. It could have been so much more. There are several sources of accurate and fascinating information which could have been plundered to make this more worth the read and less of a half-hearted effort.
A much better book for fascinating history of the tube is J E Connor's London's Disused Underground Stations and Stephen Halliday himself has produced a more comprehensive work in Underground to Everywhere: London's Underground Railway in the Life of the Capital.
But perhaps the most interesting place to find history of the London Underground is the web site underground-history, maintained by Hywel Williams, which is crammed full of photos and relevant information.
I am interested in the Tube, and use it frequently, but I am not an 'Enthusiast' merely another Londoner. Even so, I felt short changed by this brief book. So only three stars.
I felt the drawings were decidedly amateurish, and almost might have been sketches intended for a proper artist to clean up and present properly. The break-out boxes were largely wasted, and the thumbnail pictures were repeated far too often - better used just the once.
It feels rushed and cheap. It could have been so much more. There are several sources of accurate and fascinating information which could have been plundered to make this more worth the read and less of a half-hearted effort.
A much better book for fascinating history of the tube is J E Connor's London's Disused Underground Stations and Stephen Halliday himself has produced a more comprehensive work in Underground to Everywhere: London's Underground Railway in the Life of the Capital.
But perhaps the most interesting place to find history of the London Underground is the web site underground-history, maintained by Hywel Williams, which is crammed full of photos and relevant information.
I am interested in the Tube, and use it frequently, but I am not an 'Enthusiast' merely another Londoner. Even so, I felt short changed by this brief book. So only three stars.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fact-Off Winner
This is a beauty book. It's essential for all Factards. Arm yourself with Fact-off ammunition. Well-written, clever, good design. Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Dias
A bit disappointing
When a book includes the words 'amazing' and 'extraordinary' in its title, it's setting a pretty high bar for itself, and unfortunately, this book failed to live up to my... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Karura
Amazing and extraordinary!!!
this book is fantastic!!! i absolutely loved it! i have read 5 or six other books on the underground and this was my favourite! a MUST read! i have bought it for numerous presents!
Published 14 months ago by Sarah L. Hinchliffe
Our Amazing Underground
Although the book does what it says on the cover, I was slightly disappointed in that it did not go more in depth about some of the more secret and hidden aspects of the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Technical Ted
A mine of unlikely information
This book is, as its title states, a book of amazing and extraordinary London Underground facts. Adults and children alike will find items to interest them. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Michael Baxter
An easy read
This is suitable bedtime light reading. Nothing in it is truly "amazing" in spite of what the title claims, nevertheless I found it something to dip in and out of when not in the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. N. J. Horne
This does exactly what it says on the cover!
This is a book packed with fascinating facts and figures about the capitals underground transport system. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. S. J. Martin
Amazing & Extraordinary London Underground Facts
A beautifully presented little book full of interesting and quirky facts and figures; a great book to dip into if you're familiar with the London Underground, even if you're not an... Read more
Published on 22 April 2010 by B. Dockerill
Utterly chaotic
This book is not really designed to read from cover to cover. It's more of a "coffee table" book, with a magazine-style layout of non-linear text and lots of miscellaneous facts... Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by R. P. Sedgwick
A stocking filler
Nice external presentation which is let down by a somewhat indecisive interior design, a if the author wasn't entirely sure whether the book was a dip-into toilet read or a serious... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2010 by A. Betts
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