Do not pass go: from the Old Kent Road to Mayfair

Growing up in Australia my knowledge of London was all-but restricted to the Monopoly board. Thus, I knew that Mayfair and Park Lane were out of my price range if I ever moved to London, I learnt how to pronounce "Pall Mall", I knew to avoid Old Kent Road and above all I wondered what on earth "The Angel, Islingdon" was (spoiler alert; it's a building that currently hosts a pub and bank).

If "Don't Pass Go" was around in the late seventies/early eighties it would have saved a lot of wondering on my behalf. Moore does a bang-up job filling in our knowledge of each of the Monopoly, giving context as to why a particular street or location was chosen and supplying the odd dab of self-depreciating humour to keep it rolling.

Of course, when I show more finally got to London a few decades after first encountering it on the Monopoly board, it didn't seem to have the same magic that the board game instilled in me. That's not Moore's fault though. show less

Moore has a great affection for Monopoly, but very little for many of the gaucheries of modern London, or for the pomposity of Governments or Industry (including it might be added Hasbro, the modern licensee of Monopoly). What could be a dry account is enlivened not just by Moore's disinclination to suppress saying what he feels at any point in time (and a lot of it is about local UK politics and culture), but also by his boldness at inserting himself into situations that wiser cooler heads might have avoided. But having a quest does that to a person, gives them courage - and a reason - to plod on and tackle the many obstacles on his path to discovering not just the history, but also the character, of all of the locations mirrored in show more the UK version of the Monopoly Game board. It's painless history, and a fillip for anyone with a Monopoly obsession, but mostly it's just a well written, easy reading, guide to parts of London that you might add to your itinary if ever you're passing that way. show less

Highly entertaining and suprisingly informative ride around the London of the 1930s Monopoly board. An original angle on a unique slice of London's rich and varied history. I like Moore's sense of humour. It's the kind of book you consciously start slowing down on towards the end as you don't want it to end too soon!

This book outlines the history of the Monopoly board game takes you on a fascinating tour of London via the Monopoly board locations. It is creatively written in a lighthearted manner. It delves into interesting history behind all the M board squares. A bit crude in places, but a good entertaining read. I always thought the London based board was the original, how wrong you can be.

Synopsis: Tim did not outgrow his childhood obsession with Monopoly, leading him to consider how far he could take his obsession. So, Tim goes on an adventure around London, visiting the places and streets (and even jails!) that are mentioned in the famous game of Monopoly.
My Opinion: A very informative travelogue of London. Monopoly was created in 1936, and there are often comparisons from London today to how it would have been back then. Having been to London myself, it was nice when he visited places I was familiar with. I found the writing style a little bit jumpy - obviously this is an adventure around London but sometimes it was just information overload.

An enjoyable and quirky book. I liked the way he imagined what the people who chose the streets for the London-based Monopoly board were doing in 1936 and the comparisons with 'then and now'. Engagingly written (although occasionally the wordplays get a little irritating), never too 'anoraky'.

Sometimes I feel that many travel writers look at Bill Bryson and think that maybe if they could sell half as many as he does, they'd be damn happy with their lot. So why not try and do a similar take? Enter Tim Moore. To be fair, Moore does have some original ideas for his tours and this is a cracker, touring the London of the Monopoly Board. Why didn't I think of that?! It allows him to dig up some off-beat facts, but I couldn't help but think that I could too with a broadband connection and enough time to spare.