Showing 1-4 out of 4 reviews.

• What a brilliant little book that talks about the history up to current day about what goes on beneath one feet while walking London.I found the bit about the underground WWII tunnel and how Duncan Campbell rode his bike through them to be priceless!I would have loved a detailed map, as I had to go to my A-Z constantly to see where he was talking about.

  4.50 out of 5

  coolmama

• I found London Under to be both fascinating and disappointing at the same time. On the one hand I was totally engrossed in learning about the many waterways under the city and how they led to the naming of the city streets. Archaeological remnants of the Romans (and older residents of the area) are still being found. I also found the brief history of the Underground rail system interesting. But "brief" is the key word here. The author attempts to cover all of these subjects in barely 200 small pages (the hardcover book is only slightly larger than a mass market paperback) but essentially turns the waterways and wells sections into lists. Maps of the waterways would have been much more interesting than some of the illustrations that were included. Even a map of the current Underground would have added to the section on its history for those who have never been to London. In addition, the author's continuing comparisons to the mythological underworld and on-going descriptions of the fetid atmospheres (what else would one expect in the sewers?) tended to detract from my pleasure in the book. I would rather less of the flowery descriptions and more of the nitty-gritty. He does include a nice bibliography from which I hope to find other books that go more in depth than this work.

  3.00 out of 5

  heyjude

• If you've ever been intrigued by what lurks beneath the road or the footpath, then this is the book for you. Peter Ackroyd takes the reader beneath the surface in London Under and investigates the murky depths of tunnels, sewers, hidden rivers and streams and the history of long ago London.History buffs will relish the chapter on the locations of old wells and springs, and their relevance in the naming of streets. I was surprised to find that precise access points to tunnels, sewers and even old war bunkers are referenced and described in the book; to the point I began to consider whether this information could be a security risk.Nevertheless, Ackroyd provides the reader with an amazing insight into the building of the first tunnel beneath the Thames River and I found myself easily visualising the first journey through the tunnel in horse and carriage. I also enjoyed reading more about the Fleet Street 'ditch', the Roman history beneath London, the development of the Tube and the use of the Underground during the War.London Under is a short read at around 210 pages (including sketches), however in addition to the facts and history, I was hoping for a little bit of a shock or a scare. I was hoping to read about animals or deformed creatures living underground (real or tales) or information on homeless population living underground. Ackroyd did explain that the Church wasn't in favour of tunnelling underground for public transport, as they were of the opinion that the underground was the devil's territory. But for the most part, London Under is a well-structured and sensible book about the history and services located beneath the surface of London.

  3.00 out of 5

  My4Bucks

• London Under is a wonderful, atmospheric, imaginative, oozing 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. The depths below are hot, warmer than the surface, and this book tunnels down through the geological layers, meeting the creatures, real and fictional, that dwell in darkness—rats and eels, monsters and ghosts. When the Underground’s Metropolitan Line was opened in 1864, the guards asked for permission to grow beards to protect themselves against the sulfurous fumes, and named their engines after tyrants—Czar, Kaiser, Mogul—and even Pluto, god of the underworld.To go under London is to penetrate history, to enter a hidden world. As Ackroyd puts it, “The vastness of the space, a second earth, elicits sensations of wonder and of terror. It partakes of myth and dream in equal measure.”

  out of 5

  SalemAthenaeum

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