It is super-nerdy of me to give this book a five star rating but I have a thing for subterranea and certainly the tunnels and underworlds of big cities, especially London. Anyone who thinks like me or likes railways and transport (which is less my thing) will love this book. One could be forgiven for wondering if there was anything new to be said about the London Underground map. However, this excellent and entertaining book takes the whole story of the creation and expansion of the Underground network and shows how maps of the system have had to develop and change as the network became more complex and difficult to understand.

If you’re like me and you feel like your life won’t be complete without gaining knowledge about London Tube to use in very random conversations, this book is perfect for you! Well, you could also be a fan of transportation or maps and like it! NetGalley, Gabriela Gorniak Then we have the hinge of British recent history - the war - where the underground had a double function of protecting the people from air warfare and ensuring that the state administration and war effort could run unhindered by turning tunnels into administrative and control assets. An earlier subchapter described events during World War II and Hitler’s obsession with biological warfare. A German outpost was established in a village in the north of occupied Norway, intended to develop biological weapons. These weapons with their “payload” were so lethal that the outpost was constructed far from the German homeland. A group from the Norwegian underground tries to blow up the outpost, or at least steal the weaponized bio-missile. But they are too late. It has been put on a railroad flat-car and bound to the south and Germany. Philip Trimm, the archaeologist who is managing a major dig at a park called Coram’s Fields. He’s thoroughly unlikable and detests Carmen.The history of the London underground is only a part of the history of London - a history that started only with the world's first underground railway in 1863 (the Metropolitan line) - but it is an important part. The very existence of the London Transport Museum is testament to that. Carmen Kingsley, an archaeologist with the British Museum. A specialist in the Tudor era, she is in charge of all the archaeological digs in the city. Carmen is on the Asperger’s spectrum but is high-functioning.

In their earliest diagrams the companies that became London Underground imposed their lines on a “base map” showing the local streets. But realistic geography faded away as the lines promoted their own concept of themselves. For example, on maps of Metroland, the suburb created by the Metropolitan Railway, golf clubs loomed disproportionately. It is sobering to note that the Government gave up on deep shelter strategies for the population almost immediately after the first nuclear bombs were demonstrated because no place inside London would be safe from their effects. Worth noting in the age of sabre-rattling over Ukraine. A man named Sherwood enters the underground tube: “Riding London’s tube lifts always felt like a thirty-second fall from grace. The ancient machines issued forth a continuous series of ominous sounds, inevitably coming to a halt with a loud clank, as though Lucifer himself were rattling his chains in anticipation of their arrival.” This is the setting for what is to follow. Like the Dog show I judge each story by what it is. I don't compare metaphorical Basset hounds agianst poodles. if it weren't for the ending this might have been ranked higher.

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One major theme is the disjointed nature of the various lines as they were planned, grew and were extended. The author conveys the competition and animosity between the various train operators during the early years of building and running various Underground companies. Unsurprisingly travel, fares and connections between the lines was complex. Hence the need to provide the commuter with assistance. Publicity in the form of maps, posters and station information helped with navigating the complexities. The government of the day encouraged mergers and thus integration, resulting in a somewhat coherent system. As the 19th Century closes, various maps had been generated to assist passengers. Still, the iconic map we know today was still decades away. These vignettes are deftly done. The narration of “London Underground” uses a broad range of sub-plots or “slants” in different times and places, some far from London, that involve the unfinished business of World War II. They contribute to the intense suspense of the novel. A chilling adventure beneath the streets of London where WWII-era bombs, government conspiracies, and science—gone very very wrong—collide. I first took an interest in history of the London Underground map and typeface as a design student and have a small amount of knowledge about the topic already, so I was thrilled that this book covered so much I didn't know. It is a pretty dense read. I actually loved this and came away having learned a lot. It is clearly extremely well researched and the author's passion for the topic is evident throughout. The result is a wonderfully insightful and comprehensive guide to the history of the London Underground network. Carmen Kingsley, in charge of London projects for the British Museum, and Scotland Yard Inspector Sherwood Peets race to unravel the mysteries before the great city succumbs to the English Sweat, a frightening disease from the age of the Henrys.

As the complexities of the plot work themselves out, we encounter a long list of characters. Some surface in August 1944 as World War II continues to rage in the skies of London. Others appear in the present. There is the worthy public service corporatism of the interwar period, the first inklings of the military-industrial complex, the introduction of rational planning, paternalism and modernisation but always with an eye to the welfare of workers and people - and budgetary responsibility.If you're unable to release the books in accordance to Section 38(1)(b) of Freedom of Information Act 2000. Would you be able to release the remaining information from the Rule Books by redacting sensitive information in accordance to the FOI Act and GDPR/Data Protection Act?”. The book is really a popular summation of the recent work of the London Transport Museum which may be classed as archaeological, historical and sometimes selectively conservationist although the budgetary implications of full conservation would be too great for the creaking system to bear. An exploration of the abandoned tributaries of London’s vast and vital transportation network through breathtaking images and unexpected stories