Books - Archive Articles

Book review: A cultural and social history of the London pub

A new book published by Open City takes a look at London's pubs from a different perspective taken by many pub guides published today.

A photobook abou the tube stations at the end of the tube lines

In April 2018, Richard Thomas started a two-year project to visit the ends of every tube line in London - a total of 79 stations.

Book Review: The London Problem

What Britain gets wrong about its Capital City is how the book is subtitled, but it's also about what London gets wrong about what the rest of the UK thinks about London.

Book Review – Royal Greenwich: A History in Kings and Queens

A new book takes an unusual look at how the history of the various palaces and buildings in Greenwich Park have been affected over the centuries by the attentions and inattentions of monarchs.

New book looks behind the scenes of Buckingham Palace’s garden

Buckingham Palace's Head Gardener is spilling the "authorised" secrets of London's largest private garden in a new book.

Book Review: Dickens on Railways

In the mid-nineteenth century, the great age of railway building, Charles Dickens could not but be aware of their transformative impact on society. So he wrote about it often.

Book Review: London Tree Walks by Paul Wood

A whole book of walks around London looking at trees has sprouted from an idea stuck in the back of another book by the same author.

Book Review: Underground Cities by Mark Ovenden

A large book packed full of photos, diagrams and maps of many of the largest cities in the world that have a subterranean world to explore.

Learn traditional steam fair signwriting

Carters, the travelling Victorian steam fair is releasing a book all about one of the iconic images of the funfair -- the signage.

The Botanical City – A guide to the plants in the city

A beautifully illustrated book from the Hoxton Mini Press reveals the hidden secrets of plants and flowers growing on your doorstep.

An Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs

With the lockdown uncertainty affecting the annual Open House Weekend, instead of a guide book, they've produced an Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs.

Book review: The Livery Halls of the City of London

Within the City of London are a number of grand livery halls, and as they are mostly private, a richly illustrated book lets us peek behind locked doors.

Book review: Hidden London: Discovering the Forgotten Underground

Released to tie in with an exhibition of the same name, this book is a picture rich journey through some of the disused and hidden spaces on the London Underground.

Book review: No. 10: The Geography of Power at Downing Street

In a week that will be rich in political plotting, a timely book looks at how the physical design of 10 Downing Street can affect politics.

Tickets Alert: A guide to London Transport’s moquette patterns

The author of a new book about London Transport's famous moquette fabrics for its seats will be giving a talk in October about the same topic.

A book about London Underground’s famous Moquette

It's a curious thing, Moquette, that hard wearing fabric in bold designs that seems to spark strong passions in people. Is it the design, the familiarity, the heritage, the links with London Transport?

Tickets Alert: The XKCD author is visiting London

If you're the sort of person who reads this blog, then the thought of the XKCD author, Randall Munroe coming to London probably made you let out a little squeak of excitement.

A book of cinema architecture – Odeon Relics

A hardback photo-book showcasing what remains of the iconic cinemas built by Oscar Deutsch in the 1930s.

Tickets Alert: For one night only, a Modern London exhibition

A book launch and exhibition for one night only to show off a range of 200 illustrations of modern London buildings.

Crossrail: The Art of the Build

As Crossrail was being constructed, along with a couple of TV shows, there's been a number of books published -- and the latest is Crossrail: The Art of the Build.

Inside North Korea… inside Foyles

Inside that Mecca to reading can be found a glimpse behind the curtain of one of the world's most repressive regimes.

Sharing the joy of the post-war prefab homes

Two authors who chronicled the lives of people who lived in the post-war boom in temporary turned permanent prefab homes have written a book.

Art Deco, Modernism & Brutalism in London’s suburbs

A new book is being planned to share the delight of these droplets of architectural shock that permeate the land of lawnmowers, warm ale and Sunday bests.

Free Book – A short history of Roman London

To mark the recent opening of the London Mithraeum, a new book has been published offering a short, but quite comprehensive history of Roman London.