false 92160 18 Edward Rutherfurd belongs to the James Michener school: he writes big, sprawling history-by- the-pound. His novel, <I>London</I>, stretches two millennia all the way from Roman times to the present. The author places his vignettes at the most dramatic moments of that city's history, leaping from Caesar's invasion to the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire to (of course) the Blitz, with many stops in between. <I>London</I> is ambitious, and students of English history will eat it up. The author doesn't skimp on historical detail, and that's a signal pleasure of the book. Ultimately, though, the structure of the novel determines the lion's share of its success. Rutherfurd is a good storyteller and each vignette makes for a good story; however, he has given himself the inevitable task of beginning what amounts to a new book every 40 pages or so. Just as one begins to warm to the characters, they are hurried off the stage. You can't read <I>London</I> without a scorecard&#151;but that's part of the fun. Historical Fiction. The novel covers the major historical events in the history of London. The book follows several families throughout numerous generations as the different events occur. The author used aritfacts from the Museum of London to inspire the story. 3139753 book 1997 London: The Novel total:1564|5:456|4:638|3:371|2:68|1:32| 1564 6109 2329 234 3 1 false false Wed Jan 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 25 16:13:25 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 30 08:09:37 -0700 2009 1 far.

************
Tuesday 1/6/09. Now on page 365 of London. Still good. Will review when finished.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 11:13:17 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 11:24:47 -0700 2008
I suggest reading this book for more of the historical facts than any sort of story-tell...more...]]> 1 2 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu Jan 08 12:18:19 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 12:21:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Feb 06 11:20:12 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 11:56:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Oct 24 13:45:15 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 03 09:13:13 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun May 31 10:18:29 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 11:40:39 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 10:18:29 -0700 2009 4 2 false false Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 07:59:40 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 08:44:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Jul 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 03:57:39 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 04:08:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jun 18 01:03:41 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 01:03:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 23:07:12 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 23:12:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 08:53:51 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 08:54:19 -0700 2009
Still, if you are trying to show the history of the capital from the roman invasion to modern day, its going to be lengthy.

This is a book like nothing that I have ever read before. It is fiction - p...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Wed Jan 07 13:02:49 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 09:11:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Tue Jan 15 06:27:58 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 25 07:15:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Fri Sep 07 15:38:09 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 15:48:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 19:28:39 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 14:35:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Fri Aug 14 05:27:27 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 05:28:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed May 28 08:00:59 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 08:02:22 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Tue Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Mar 03 05:26:42 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 05:31:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 11:42:52 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 20:51:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun May 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 01 22:38:08 -0800 2009 Mon May 11 18:43:55 -0700 2009 same few families interacting with mostly just each other? in all of london and in all that time? blandly incestuous, mostly improbable, and overall: static....more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=92160