Johnson's Life of London
- set item rating to 0.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 1 out of 5.
- set item rating to 1.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 2 out of 5.
- set item rating to 2.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 3 out of 5.
- set item rating to 3.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 4 out of 5.
- set item rating to 4.5 out of 5.
- set item rating to 5 out of 5.
Add a Comment
Add Tags
Add More
Save to a List
-
Save to a Shared List
Print
Details
- Description
- Full Record
- Author Notes
- Contents
- Excerpts
- Reviews
- Summary
- A\\V Summary
- Preview
Searching for more content…
London is still the mother ship for Americans, many of whom share the opinion of its tousle-headed, bicycle-riding mayor - that indeed it's the best city in the world. And as the capital takes center of the world stage with the 2012 Olympics, who better than Boris (as he is known) to convey how London
… More »London is still the mother ship for Americans, many of whom share the opinion of its tousle-headed, bicycle-riding mayor - that indeed it's the best city in the world. And as the capital takes center of the world stage with the 2012 Olympics, who better than Boris (as he is known) to convey how London became one of the most exciting and influential places on Earth? Wearing his brilliance and erudition with characteristic wit, Boris narrates the story of his city as a kind of relay race of outsized characters, beginning with the days when "a bunch of pushy Italians" created Londinium. He passes the torch on down through a procession of the famous and infamous, the brilliant and the bizarre - from Hadrian to Shakespeare to Florence Nightingale to the Rolling Stones- illuminating with unforgettable clarity each figure and the era he or she inhabited. He also pauses to shine a light on places and developments that have contributed to the city's incomparable vibrancy, from the flush toilet to the King James Bible. As wildly entertaining as it is informative, this is an irresistible account of the city and people that in large part shaped the world we know.
« Lessthe people who made the city that made the world
London Bridge -- Boudica -- Hadrian -- Mellitus -- Alfred the Great -- William the Conqueror -- Geoffrey Chaucer -- Richard Whittington -- The flush toilet -- William Shakespeare -- Robert Hooke -- The King James Bible -- Samuel Johnson -- The Bow Street runners -- John Wilkes -- The suit -- J.M.W. Turner -- The bicycle -- Lionel Rothschild -- Ping-pong -- Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole -- Joseph Bazalgette and the sewers -- W.T. Stead -- The Tube -- Winston Churchill -- The routemaster bus -- Keith Richards -- The Midland Grand Hotel.
Community Activity
Find it at DBRL
Loading...
Comment
Add a CommentJohnson’s Life of London is a very interesting and highly readable social history of one of the most exciting world capitals. Author Boris Johnson, the blond mopped Mayor of London (you have seen him at the Diamond Jubilee and Olympics), presents a history of the city he so evidently loves. Each chapter covers a different historical era and does this by focusing on a particular person. From Queen Boudica, to Keith Richardson, from Chaucer to Churchill, Johnson’s Life of London spans the eras from Roman times to the current day. Johnson writes with wit and insight. The book discovers London as none of us have seen it before and the journey is both surprising and exhilarating.