Product Description

A revised and updated reference book, comprised of 5000 entries, organized alphabetically and cross-referenced. Everything that is important in the history and culture of London is documented, from its first settlement to the present day.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1146637 in Books
• Published on: 1993-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1060 pages

From Library Journal
According to Dr. Samuel Johnson, "When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." In many senses this fine reference work confirms Johnson's oft-quoted words. With some 5000 entries, ample illustration, and excellent indexes (a general one and one covering people), it is an easily used tool. Well over 100 experts contributed to the book, and the co-editors have done an exceptional job in covering everything from the amusing to the mundane, the largely forgotten past to the vital present. To peruse the work's pages is almost to wear the shoes of George Macaulay Trevelyan as he walked at the side of his relative Thomas Babington Macaulay and had one noteworthy London site after another pointed out, along with a fascinating lecture on its history. Comprehensive, readable in a fashion seldom found in encyclopedias, and transcending anything of this sort heretofore in print, this is a work which belongs in both public and academic libraries.
- Jim Casada, Winthrop Coll., Rock Hill, S.C.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Authors John and Julia Keay are editors of this third edition of Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert's masterpiece on London.

Customer Reviews

Remarkable achievement.
For anyone who has any interest in London beyond the superficial, this book is a feast. Definitive scholarly articles about virtually any London topic one could imagine. 1060 pages, 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" (i.e., a LOT of words)in the softcover edition I have. Bought it in London in November, 1996, for 25 pounds

Nitty-gritty details, acurate dates...delicious!
An excellent reference for anyone writing or reading about the history of London, The London Encyclopedia has enough detail to satisfy even the most nit-picky browser looking for an historical good time, and the serious researcher won't walk away unhappy, either. Yummy

A wonderful reference for when you get home
I bought the hardcover edition of this great book some time around my first trip to London in 1986. And although I don't make it to that great city nearly as often as I would like (understatement), I feel like I know the city at least moderately well. A big part of the credit for that has to go to the many hours I've spent browsing, or doing concentrated research, in these pages. It's truly an outstanding reference.

Sadly, it's much too large to carry around as a guidebook. However, I returned from our recent London holiday with a long list of streets, squares, statues, parks, and other landmarks to look up in "The London Encyclopædia," and was uniformly pleased with the results. The authors have done a remarkable amount of research, but presented it in a way that is accessible and highly readable. For the casual visitor or the serious historian, this hefty volume is a resource that's not to be overlooked.