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Underground London: Travels Beneath the City Streets
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Product Description
Independent on Sunday
'This is a benchmark in London books: elegant, illuminating and often very funny, a great guide to the dark side.'
Iain Sinclair, Evening Standard
'By becoming a witness to the unseen and little-known... [Smith] rescues reportage and makes of it a kind of poetry'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the first book for a very long time that I simply haven't been able to put down. This should be compulsive reading for every Londoner! Stephen Smith has managed to bring to vibrant life the world beneath our concrete and glass city. History has never been so vivid with the sights and sounds of London gone by echoing in every page. The only down side is that it has made me aware of a whole world I am not allowed to be part of existing just a few metres beneath my feet (that and peering into every little door and window on the tube).
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
News reporter and author Stephen Smith goes below pavement level in London, allowing the reader to vicariously explore burial crypts, dug-up plague pits, sewers, excavated Roman walls, remnants of Henry VIII's tennis courts, poncy wine cellars, secret government bunkers, the bowels of Parliament, and forgotten corners of the Tube.
For me, the the most intriguing chapter dealt with that subterranean environment most obviously accessible to the tourist, the London Underground ("Mind the Gap!"). Did you know that the most prevalent litter in the system, cleaned up during routine housekeeping between 1:00 and 5:00 AM, is human hair blown from the heads of thousands and thousands of train riders every day? Then, there are all those wallets plundered and discarded by pickpockets. And, though it won't be on my Must-Do short list for my next visit to the city, Smith's slog down the northern outflow sewer was gratifyingly informative.
However, UNDERGROUND LONDON is an uneven read. In the chapter dedicated to Anglo-Saxon artifacts, the author first describes a modern day ceremonial ritual involving holding a small schoolboy by his heels over the Thames while he beats the water's surface with a stick, and then goes on to describe the confiscated oddities to be found in the cellars of Her Majesty's Custom House. The connection between these and Anglo-Saxon period seemed forced. And the chapter in which Smith visits an underground vault of safe deposit boxes could just as well have been penned in the above-ground strong room at my local bank. No revelations there.
Perhaps the narrative's best features are the brief lessons in London history, past and recent, that Smith provides as background to the central theme: the evolution of city sanitation, the medieval plague epidemics, the theory and practice of the Thames Barrier, Henry VIII's obsession with tennis, the use of Tube stations as bomb shelters during the Blitz, and the British government's renewed interest in secure bolt holes after 9/11.
A criticism of UNDERGROUND LONDON has been that it includes no photos. Normally, I'd agree. But, in this instance, I'm not sure that the majority of Smith's subjects would've provided opportunity for interesting or instructive visuals. Somehow, a shot of the now-buried Fleet River churning along at the bottom of a well in Clerkenwell, or that of a disintegrating coffin in Kensal Green cemetery, doesn't seem necessary.
For those who love London, UNDERGROUND LONDON will be an occasionally rewarding ... um, travel essay. I'm awarding four stars simply because London is where my heart is. Otherwise, it would rate three, or less.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is a very wordy book, each chapter is an essay. The type of articles you get by a broad sheet journalist who is not limited by space and not in a hurry to tell the facts. It is a different perspective. Concentrating on trips he has made to the various subjects; down the sewers, bits of Roman wall under buildings. etc.
What it does not have is any photos or maps. The lack of any maps especially I found annoying. They would have helped illustrate the articles and for the reader to find them himself.
The author must have put a lot of time into researching his data, I just found the style annoying to read.
This is a view of London you will either like or dislike.
I edged towards the latter.
What it does not have is any photos or maps. The lack of any maps especially I found annoying. They would have helped illustrate the articles and for the reader to find them himself.
The author must have put a lot of time into researching his data, I just found the style annoying to read.
This is a view of London you will either like or dislike.
I edged towards the latter.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I do not understand how this could be any worse
I am fascinated about subterranean London and this book caught my eye, and it lead to an impulse buy. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. H. Lam
Very Interesting book
I first saw this book in a catalogue that arrived unsolicited in the post. I thought I would look it up on line and see if I could find it anywhere else at a cheaper price. Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. Messett
Underwhelming.
An interesting book about below ground London but the subject has been approached many times before and this book does not stand out. Read more
Published 7 months ago by bookcrazy
a fine read
Received this book as a gift and truly enjoyed it. In fact, I'm rereading it now that I've actually been to London, and finding the book more fun the second time through, as so... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ding Pression
Really enjoyed this book
I read through the other reviews for this book with some dismay. This was a hugely enjoyable book to read. Read more
Published 12 months ago by A Chorlton
Underground London
An erudite journey beneath the London streets, peopled with characters that shine out from the pages with some highly amusing moments.
Published on 18 Feb 2010 by Ms. J. Empson-high
Entertaining anecdotes
I noticed from other reviews that this book by Stephen Smith has been rated anything from one to five. Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2010 by Rainy Day
babble and waffle
This book contains about 2 interesting facts in each chapter that could be written using about 50 words per fact and the rest is just uninteresting and fairly unrelated babble and... Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Sally Smith
Food for thought
The book is fascinating but it is not an easy read. Lots of interesting tidbits, but I found myself having to re-read several bits as I stopped really paying attention. Read more
Published on 4 April 2009 by Jackie Richardson
Very uneven and mostly thin
This is not a serious book about Subterranean London. If that's your bag try Richard Tench and Ellis Hillman's book. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2009 by shinglma
Listmania!
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