Underground, Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube

Like the author of this book, I've always been a little bit obsessed with the Tube, and with London itself. My seven-year-old self was in awe of a city whose residents rode trains underground, and even now, I always prefer to get on the Tube than catch a boring old bus when I'm in big London town. For me, the idea of this book seemed perfect - how did it come about? To whose mind did this tangled map of lines and stations make sense? Whilst not quite disappointed, I find myself not quite satisfied by this one - it is rather geeky in places, and I would have liked to have seen more social history about how the Tube affected Londoners' lives. And, for the record, the Northern line is not that bad - the District line is worse!

This is a light overview of the history of the tube from someone who carries his anorak over his arm rather than wearing it.

He looks into the early development of the tube, and some of the significant characters who made the Tube what it is today. But what makes this book something other than another Tube history is the way he weaves in his own journeys to the narrative.

I enjoyed it, but couldn't give it five stars as it was missing that extra something.

Numerous books have been written chronicling the history of the London Underground. This is evident from Andrew Martin's contribution to the genre, as he quotes frequently from several of them, interweaving between their deployment his own observations about the state of "Tube" today. He is well equipped for this latter task; the son of a railway man (as he informs his readers in his introduction and periodically reminds them throughout the book) and the author of a series of detective novels set on the rails, he wrote a column in the late 1990s on the Tube for the magazine of one of London's many newspapers. In effect the book represents a blending of his aesthetic commentary and secondary research into a friendly account of London's show more iconic transport system.

The resulting book is by turns entertaining and informative, with little nuggets of trivia that often are missing from more serious accounts. His affection for his subject is obvious; what is less so is the intended audience for his book. Martin tells a history of the Underground familiar to anyone with even a passing command of the history of his subject, yet his book presumes a familiarity with both the metropolis and the various Underground lines built over the decades to serve it — a presumption underscored by the otherwise unaccountable absence of maps. In this respect it might be best suited for a longtime rider familiar with the intricacies of the Underground today who wants some historical context to explain some of the system's many oddities and quirks. Though such an audience may be a narrow one (and they can add a star to my rating here), they will undoubtedly find Martin's book an agreeable companion as they go clacking along its rails or zipping beneath the city it serves. show less

A very in depth account of the history of the London Underground. The book has some interesting technical descriptions about building the tunnels and stations, but does get a bit anoraky in places. One for the enthusiast I think

An entertaining and enjoyable history of London Underground. If you like the Tube or interested in underground trains, read it.

A readable history of the Tube, but I was expecting more "trivia" rather than simply a history.