

Ladataan... London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 2011; vuoden 2011 painos)– tekijä: Peter Ackroyd (Tekijä)
Teoksen tarkat tiedotLondon Under (tekijä: Peter Ackroyd) (2011)
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- Ei tämänhetkisiä Keskustelu-viestiketjuja tästä kirjasta. London history ( ![]() The London skyline is famous all round the world, but apart from the tube, beneath the streets very few people know what is there. Ackroyd's book really only scratches the surface, as it is fairly short, but he uncovers litte gems of information on the 2000 year old history of London. Every time anyone digs a hole there another nugget of history is revealed. There are chapters on the tube, the hidden rivers of London, and the Fleet, which was 60 feet wide at certain points has a whole chapter to itself. There are sketchy details on the government tunnels, so of which are open to the public, and others that are still not. Some of the archeological details are fascinating, in particular the finds, and in some case still operational Roman water courses. Really enjoyed reading it, looking forward to some of his other books now. Likely closer to 3.5 stars. Mr. Ackroyd collects a disquieting bushel of facts and weaves the disparate strands into something reverent. The haze surrounding the tube construction was especially effective. Plus another half star. As I read it I felt as if it were an unstructured elegant list of facts (and I was glad it was so short) but by the chapter on the underground I was enthralled. Skimming back through the book after finishing it was much more satisfying than the first read through - the structure became clear and it has left me with the thirst to go off and look at maps and search out more detail and find out much more. Definitely not one of his best. I kept getting very easily distracted while reading this, so I'm not really sure how much of it I retained. I felt like I was coming into a conversation after the punchline of a joke, or that this was a sequel. I enjoy his writing style, but my knowledge of London (more like lack of) really affected how much I took away from this book.
Ackroyd (or his editor) has reined in the whimsical generalisations that mar his earlier books, with not a single utterance of that Ackroydian cliché: “London has always been…”. (Fans of Ackroyd bingo will also note a significant diminution of ‘noisome’ occurrences, with a concomitant increase in ‘meets its quietus’.) This is a short but punchy book. You can easily read it in two sittings. If you’re already well-versed in hypogeal London, you may want to wait for the paperback. For those looking for a highly readable introduction, plumb any depth to get hold of a copy. It’s the second half of “London Under” that tells this story of the Tube — the true reward of the book — but Ackroyd makes readers work for it.
A short study of everything that goes on under London--from original springs and streams and Roman amphitheaters to Victorian sewers, gang hideouts, and modern tube stations. No library descriptions found. |
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