Why is the Victoria Line so hot? What is an Electrical Multiple Unit? Is it really possible to ride from Kings Cross to Kings Cross on the Circle line? The London Underground is the oldest, most sprawling and illogical metropolitan transport system in the world, the result of a series of botch-jobs and improvisations.Yet it transports over one billion passengers every year - and this figure is rising. It is iconic, recognised the world over, and loved and despised by Londoners in equal measure. Blending reportage, humour and personal encounters, Andrew Martin embarks on a wonderfully engaging social history of London's underground railway system (which despite its name, is in fact fifty five per cent overground). Along the way he attempts to untangle the mess that is the Northern Line, visit every station in a single day - and find out which gaps to be especially mindful of. Underground, Overground is a highly enjoyable, witty and informative history of everything you need to know about the Tube.
Underground, Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube
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'Martin is the Laureate of the Underground ... he has an acute eye for detail, and tempers his own knowledge with a dry humour. Unlike many funny writers, he is both affectionate and alert to nuance ... you emerge from this book as though from the Underground itself, blinking into the sunlight as you bid farewell to its peculiar, parallel universe, a place where, as Martin says, it always seems to be evening ... it wouldn t be surprising if the next pigeon he spots on the Tube was bent over a copy of his fascinating book, saying 'Coo!'' --Mail on Sunday
'A deeply pleasurable history of the London tube. Martin has all the history at his fingertips' --Prospect
'So dense with fascinating facts that a Londoner can dip in it at almost any point and get a new insight to enrich their experience of the city... a fine tribute to the tube' --Time Out
'The best introduction to the tube ... I missed my stop on three separate occasions when engrossed in this readable and very funny history ... Mr Martin is the perfect guide' --Country Life
'Martin's witty tome is as entertaining as its subject is frustrating and, perhaps surprisingly, liable to induce sympathy for the poor sods who run the ever teetering service' --Word
'A deeply pleasurable history of the London tube. Martin has all the history at his fingertips' --Prospect
'So dense with fascinating facts that a Londoner can dip in it at almost any point and get a new insight to enrich their experience of the city... a fine tribute to the tube' --Time Out
'A deeply pleasurable history of the London tube. Martin has all the history at his fingertips' --Prospect
'So dense with fascinating facts that a Londoner can dip in it at almost any point and get a new insight to enrich their experience of the city... a fine tribute to the tube' --Time Out
'The best introduction to the tube ... I missed my stop on three separate occasions when engrossed in this readable and very funny history ... Mr Martin is the perfect guide' --Country Life
'Martin's witty tome is as entertaining as its subject is frustrating and, perhaps surprisingly, liable to induce sympathy for the poor sods who run the ever teetering service' --Word
'A deeply pleasurable history of the London tube. Martin has all the history at his fingertips' --Prospect
'So dense with fascinating facts that a Londoner can dip in it at almost any point and get a new insight to enrich their experience of the city... a fine tribute to the tube' --Time Out
Book Description
An entertaining and enlightening social history of the world's most famous underground railway
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By G. Gavigan
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's alway going to be difficult to beat in-depth nerdism such as one might find from capo-di-capo Christian Wolmar and The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How it Changed the City Forever but what I liked about this book is the anecdote and affection, together with a little more about the personalities and the politics.
I didn't appreciate (but on reflection wasn't surprised) that Harry Beck, the pioneering tube map designer had a face that didn't fit and his contribution was only recognised years later. I also thought the discussion of the lost property office interesting (yes, I've been there...). And his description of Northern Line islands together with the speculation as to why people don't fall off the edge during the rush hour (I've been there and there too) are just some of the charming stories that keep this well written personal reflection moving forward. A tiny criticism, knowing Temple very well, and the map to which he refers, which is so faded and insignificantly positioned, I would think one could stand there a long time before observing anyone having noticing it let alone becoming confused by it.
I enjoyed reading that just as documented in The Bus We Loved: London's Affair with the Routemaster that there was no such thing as a standard Routemaster because of continual tinkering with the design, there was no such thing as the standard tube train.
Other reviewers have criticised the lack of a tube map, I wasn't sure I understood this. It's not as if one can't whip up a tube map fairly quickly and luckily with other nerd-fests out there you can choose from a range of historical versions.
It's part of the quirky canon of books about London and its transport including Do Not Alight Here: Walking London's Lost Underground and Railway Stations and Last Stop!.
I didn't appreciate (but on reflection wasn't surprised) that Harry Beck, the pioneering tube map designer had a face that didn't fit and his contribution was only recognised years later. I also thought the discussion of the lost property office interesting (yes, I've been there...). And his description of Northern Line islands together with the speculation as to why people don't fall off the edge during the rush hour (I've been there and there too) are just some of the charming stories that keep this well written personal reflection moving forward. A tiny criticism, knowing Temple very well, and the map to which he refers, which is so faded and insignificantly positioned, I would think one could stand there a long time before observing anyone having noticing it let alone becoming confused by it.
I enjoyed reading that just as documented in The Bus We Loved: London's Affair with the Routemaster that there was no such thing as a standard Routemaster because of continual tinkering with the design, there was no such thing as the standard tube train.
Other reviewers have criticised the lack of a tube map, I wasn't sure I understood this. It's not as if one can't whip up a tube map fairly quickly and luckily with other nerd-fests out there you can choose from a range of historical versions.
It's part of the quirky canon of books about London and its transport including Do Not Alight Here: Walking London's Lost Underground and Railway Stations and Last Stop!.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Albatross
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I loved this book but was a bit disappointed by the lack of explanatory maps, as new lines were discussed and brought into the book.
Andrew Martin has an easy writing style but I found I had to keep stopping to look at a map of London to try and work out some of the points he was trying to bring across.
A few more pictures would also have helped but a worthwhile read nevertheless.
Andrew Martin has an easy writing style but I found I had to keep stopping to look at a map of London to try and work out some of the points he was trying to bring across.
A few more pictures would also have helped but a worthwhile read nevertheless.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Peter D
Format:Paperback
A rattle through the history of the Tube (in case you haven't noticed, 150 years old this year), which among other things exposes tbe piecemeal, money- driven way that the system was developed. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more quirky reportage from Martin- you got the impression from the preface, where he describes his teenage trips to London on his Dad's British Rail privilege pass, that there'd be a lot of this kind of thing- but never mind. This was a lively, interesting and generally accessible book, a kind of 'Tube History for Dummies' in comparison to the more serious stuff by people like Christian Wolmar and his 'The Subterranean Railway'.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Service
Goods arrive on time as advised. If you haven't read the book its worth buying as a very good read
Published 1 month ago by Von
4.0 out of 5 stars
Passenger's Personal Underground Journey and History
This is a most entertaining and personal account of the Underground which celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Book Beaver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great books
Great book just as expected the stories and the details not found in any other books and funny as well
Published 2 months ago by Stephen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable enough, despite odd flaws and quirks...
Despite being slightly off-put by Andrew Martin's somewhat self-congratulatory style (the quips come thick and fast - although the set-ups are often painfully laboured), a good... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ivan Zehdra-Maychayne
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Potted Underground History
I thought I knew the Underground well but this book is full of information new to me. A very good history.
Published 3 months ago by j.mackett
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story
Great story written (but sometimes not historically correct) in a conversation style narrative. However the inclusion of maps would have the story more "gripping" .
Published 3 months ago by Roger Kendrick
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not just for nerds!
A great read...funny and informative. A good guide to London and also the people that use the tube. Well worth getting.
Published 4 months ago by Trevlar
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing, but not always factually correct
This book is without doubt an amusing read and probably best aimed at those with relatively little knowledge of the history of the London Underground. Read more
Published 5 months ago by PaulR
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written by an underground anorak
A well structured book that charts the history of the Tube which explains some interesting facts. Interesting for any one with the slightest interest you do not need an anorak or a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by JK
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bought as a present
The person who received the gift was impressed with the book. I was impressed with the service and would recommend the book to anyone interested in the railway and underground.
Published 5 months ago by Mrs B Harmer
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