London, a Concise History

London, a Concise History by Geoffrey Trease (Scribner’s, 224 pp., illus., $12.50). To grow tired of London, Samuel Johnson insisted, is to grow tired of life. But to grow a little weary of the steady stream of books about London is perhaps more understandable. In many ways, the best casual work—combining history, geography, humor, and practical information for the modern traveler—is still the Fodor guidebook by David Piper, deservedly revised and reprinted several times since its original appearance in 19’64. However, Geoffrey Trease’s new Concise History of the city on the Thames, if less practical, still pleasantly and readably chronicles nearly two millennia of dazzling London history, and is well illustrated to boot. If the last several decades come in for fairly scant handling, it is just as well. Despite the author’s attempt to end on a positive note, those who visit London fairly regularly nowadays are painfully aware of the slow but steady decline in manners, morals, morale, and general tone. The most vivid impression of 1975 was of a seemingly endless line of plump, purse-and-petrol-proud Arabs and their broods waddling through Burlington Arcade, Knightsbridge, and Oxford Street, where many Londoners and some European visitors can no longer afford to shop. It is a spectacle that might have fatigued even Samuel Johnson, who, come to think of it, would probably have turned Powellite by now, if he were still around.

aram bakshian jr.

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Aram Bakshian Jr.

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London, a Concise History by Geoffrey Trease (Scribner’s, 224 pp., illus., $12.50). To grow tired of London, Samuel Johnson insisted, is to grow tired of life. But to grow a little weary of the steady stream of books about London is perhaps more understandable. In many ways, the best casual work—combining history, geography, humor, and practical information for the modern traveler—is still the Fodor guidebook by David Piper, deservedly revised and reprinted several times since its original appearance in 19’64. However, Geoffrey Trease’s new Concise History of the city on the Thames, if less practical, still pleasantly and readably chronicles nearly two millennia of dazzling London history, and is well illustrated to boot. If the last several decades come in for fairly scant handling, it is just as well. Despite the author’s attempt to end on a positive note, those who visit London fairly regularly nowadays are painfully aware of the slow but steady decline in manners, morals, morale, and general tone. The most vivid impression of 1975 was of a seemingly endless line of plump, purse-and-petrol-proud Arabs and their broods waddling through Burlington Arcade, Knightsbridge, and Oxford Street, where many Londoners and some European visitors can no longer afford to shop. It is a spectacle that might have fatigued even Samuel Johnson, who, come to think of it, would probably have turned Powellite by now, if he were still around.

aram bakshian jr.