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Review
'There is much here that will delight Ackroyd's many admirers.'
--TSL
`[Ackroyd's] short but fascinating history of the capital beneath the surface...irresistible.' --Financial Times
`A literary, cultural and topographical sat-nav for going underground in London... [Ackroyd] can authoritatively pull out and put together from his mind and material an engrossing study such as this survey... With quick, deft stitches he sews the fantastical and the familiar into a macabre sampler of the city that exists beneath the feet of its citizens.' --Times
`London Under is written with Ackroyd's characteristic panache.' --Sunday Times
`This book is not a straightforward history of London's relationship with the clay on which it stands but a poetic invoking of what Ackroyd perceives as the diabolic terror of the earth.' --Metro
`Other worlds lurk below London, and Ackroyd revels in them. The book is both an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet and a meditation on the meaning we give them.'
--Literary Review
`As ever his research is meticulous, his scope expansive, his writing definitive. Every sentence is delivered with judicial gravity and command... Once again, Ackroyd shares his vision of a mythical city most do not see.' --Time Out
`While many authors have shone a flashlight on London's catacombs and tunnels, Ackroyd's vision is infra-red...[Ackroyd is] skilled at connecting the past, present and future... For those looking for a highly readable introduction, plumb and depth to get a copy.'
--Londonist
`Ackroyd takes us through the layers of the city, lifting the covers to peer downwards.'
--Camden News Journal
`In a short but intriguing book, Ackroyd explores the idea that, beneath the surface, there has existed another world with rules and conventions of its own.'
--The Financial Times
--TSL
`[Ackroyd's] short but fascinating history of the capital beneath the surface...irresistible.' --Financial Times
`A literary, cultural and topographical sat-nav for going underground in London... [Ackroyd] can authoritatively pull out and put together from his mind and material an engrossing study such as this survey... With quick, deft stitches he sews the fantastical and the familiar into a macabre sampler of the city that exists beneath the feet of its citizens.' --Times
`London Under is written with Ackroyd's characteristic panache.' --Sunday Times
`This book is not a straightforward history of London's relationship with the clay on which it stands but a poetic invoking of what Ackroyd perceives as the diabolic terror of the earth.' --Metro
`Other worlds lurk below London, and Ackroyd revels in them. The book is both an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet and a meditation on the meaning we give them.'
--Literary Review
`As ever his research is meticulous, his scope expansive, his writing definitive. Every sentence is delivered with judicial gravity and command... Once again, Ackroyd shares his vision of a mythical city most do not see.' --Time Out
`While many authors have shone a flashlight on London's catacombs and tunnels, Ackroyd's vision is infra-red...[Ackroyd is] skilled at connecting the past, present and future... For those looking for a highly readable introduction, plumb and depth to get a copy.'
--Londonist
`Ackroyd takes us through the layers of the city, lifting the covers to peer downwards.'
--Camden News Journal
`In a short but intriguing book, Ackroyd explores the idea that, beneath the surface, there has existed another world with rules and conventions of its own.'
--The Financial Times
Review
"This book is not a straightforward history of London's relationship with the clay on which it stands but a poetic invoking of what Ackroyd perceives as the diabolic terror of the earth."
"--Metro"
" "
"Other worlds lurk below London, and Ackroyd revels in them. The book is both an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet and a meditation on the meaning we give them."
--Adrian Tinniswood, "Literary Review"
"A literary, cultural and topographical sat-nav for going underground in London... With quick, deft stitches he sews the fantastical and the familiar into a macabre sampler of the city that exists beneath the feet of its citizens."
--"The Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"--Metro"
" "
"Other worlds lurk below London, and Ackroyd revels in them. The book is both an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet and a meditation on the meaning we give them."
--Adrian Tinniswood, "Literary Review"
"A literary, cultural and topographical sat-nav for going underground in London... With quick, deft stitches he sews the fantastical and the familiar into a macabre sampler of the city that exists beneath the feet of its citizens."
--"The Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As a big fan of both Ackroyd's factual and fiction work I was looking forward to this book. His biography of London is a tour de force but London Under, whilst well written, is hardly definitive.
It is a slim volume and perhaps Peter was at a loose end one weekend and knocked this one out for his publishers.
The bibliography says it all. There are more (and better)books available on London's secret underground and any serious reader wanting to know more is better advised to look elsewhere than here. For someone just starting with an interest then this maybe the one start with.
It is a slim volume and perhaps Peter was at a loose end one weekend and knocked this one out for his publishers.
The bibliography says it all. There are more (and better)books available on London's secret underground and any serious reader wanting to know more is better advised to look elsewhere than here. For someone just starting with an interest then this maybe the one start with.
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been a big fan of Ackroyd's, and for some while, but this feels thin, sort of rushed and - I know - all surface. If it had someone else's name on the spine I maybe wouldn't have noticed the shortcomings so much, or at least not thought about them a great deal, but this author's byline raises expectations and this time they've been dashed. Almost everything in this book I've read before, somewhere else, and often in greater depth. The writing's good, no question, but the content feels decidedly shopworn.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Oh deary me Mr Ackroyd, what have we here? The most striking thing about
'London Under' is that the author's heart is very clearly not in it.
This is a book which barely skims the surface when it could have dug
deep and come back with a catalogue of riches. A fumbled opportunity.
The treatment of his subject (and what a potentially truly engaging subject!)
is repetitive and uninspiring; the language is dull and the detail dumbed-down.
Next to his wonderful treatise 'London : The Biography' (2000) this is a mere
shadow of a shadow. Mr Ackroyd is coasting; surely he knew we would notice!
For a more enlightening read I would recommend Stephen Smith's 2005 book
'Underground London : Travels Beneath The City Streets' for a far more
entertaining and engaging read and (although unrelated) Luc Sante's
marvellous tome ' Low Life : Drinking, Drugging, Whoring, Murder, Corruption,
Vice and Miscellaneous Mayhem In Old New York' (1998) for a beautifully
detailed account of the social and material archaeology of the underbelly of
another great city. Mr Ackroyd's 'London Under' cannot hold a candle to either.
Only If You Must.
'London Under' is that the author's heart is very clearly not in it.
This is a book which barely skims the surface when it could have dug
deep and come back with a catalogue of riches. A fumbled opportunity.
The treatment of his subject (and what a potentially truly engaging subject!)
is repetitive and uninspiring; the language is dull and the detail dumbed-down.
Next to his wonderful treatise 'London : The Biography' (2000) this is a mere
shadow of a shadow. Mr Ackroyd is coasting; surely he knew we would notice!
For a more enlightening read I would recommend Stephen Smith's 2005 book
'Underground London : Travels Beneath The City Streets' for a far more
entertaining and engaging read and (although unrelated) Luc Sante's
marvellous tome ' Low Life : Drinking, Drugging, Whoring, Murder, Corruption,
Vice and Miscellaneous Mayhem In Old New York' (1998) for a beautifully
detailed account of the social and material archaeology of the underbelly of
another great city. Mr Ackroyd's 'London Under' cannot hold a candle to either.
Only If You Must.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
disappointing
I agree with the reviewers who have pointed out the thinness of the book and its appearance of being thrown together. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Michael Hoath
Scratching the surface
As far as it goes, an interesting take on the mysterious and the not so mysterious to be found beneath London's crowded streets. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. L. Haggett
Ackroyd's guide to a London most of us have never seen
Peter Ackroyd is one of the foremost authorities on London, and you know when you're reading this concise but fascinating history that you're in the hands of an expert. Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Weatherall
Peter Ackroyd never disappoints
This little book is a mixture of history, suspense, gossip and sound historical knowledge which means that it is a typical Peter Ackroyd book - clever, literate and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr. Thomas Butler
Interesting
I bought this as a gift for someone who has always been interested in what lies beneath London. It was very well received, full of unusual information and illustrations, all... Read more
Published 4 months ago by SBM
TYPOS!
I am getting sick to death of the amount of typos / errors of proofreading I am coming across, EVERYWHERE.
Have just received this book for xmas. Read more
Have just received this book for xmas. Read more
Published 5 months ago by marion
Very Good Value
Received the used book next day from placing order, brilliant condition, cannot praise the bookseller enough for good value and service, thank you.
Published 8 months ago by Whiskey Drinker
Light!
I had expected much more from Peter Ackroyd! His writing is, at times, quite stiff, not flowing at all. I had the feeling that PA was not really in tune with his topic. Read more
Published 9 months ago by gjh
Disappointing
This feels like it was put together in a hurry - even the editing has left irritating grammatical errors. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mark M
fascinating and accessible
I found this a fascinating book, and have recommended it to many people. It covers lots of underground railway history, as well as underground rivers and wells, lots of London... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ms. S. Gunn
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