Paul Talling

This is an interesting book, consisting of color photographs taken by the author over several years of abandoned and decaying but still inhabited residences, pubs, factories, rail stations, World War II pillboxes and shelters, and cemeteries within the city. The author includes brief histories of the structures, along with future plans. Examples include the Down Street Underground Station on the Picadilly Line, which served as temporary headquarters for Winston Churchill and his cabinet show more during World War II; the Necropolis Railway Station, which was used to transport the dead from Waterloo Station to the Brookwood Necropolis, once the largest cemetery in the world; and the Intrepid Fox, a recently closed pub in Soho that was favored by rock stars such as Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart. This was a very entertaining read, which would be appreciated by Londoners and visitors interested in the history of the capital. show less

More of a 'picture-book' than I was expecting, but they are very good pictures. Some interesting history, perhaps best read by those who can remember the rivers, or at least the old (often smelly!) outlets and districts.