London

by John Russell

For John Russell, author of the highly successful Paris as well as a score of other volumes, writing London was a labor of love. English by birth, Russell lived in London for nearly 50 years, and here he offers a matchless tour of the key aspects of the city and its notable citizens through the centuries. 183 illustrations, including 86 in full color.

Genres: History, Travel, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1981

About the author

John Russell CBE (22 January 1919 – 23 August 2008) was an English art critic and journalist.

He started his career at the Tate Gallery in 1940, but moved to the country after the gallery was bombed during World War II.

He worked in Naval Intelligence for the Admiralty where he met author Ian Fleming, who helped to secure Russell a reviewing position at The Sunday Times in 1950.
Russell was chief art critic at the New York Times from 1982 to 1990.


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The much-honored Russell spent nearly thirty years as chief art critic for the London Sunday Times, and then came to New York and did the same thing for the New York Times for another sixteen years. Even after leaving London, though, he still considers himself an insider of that city, and in this book he shares his fifty-year perspective with the reader. It’s not a guidebook nor a travel book, but a highly idiosyncratic memoir of London, organized around diverse themes, including Samuel Johnson, Buckingham Palace, the rebuilding of the city after the Great Fire, the role of the Thames, and what he calls the “spirit of place” -- one of the best chapters in this marvelous book. Throughout, he illustrates his thoughts and often witty commentary with reproductions of art and photographs of people and buildings which, brought together in one place like this, are just about worth the price of the book by themselves. One of the best books about London I’ve seen in years.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing, informative...and well-designed, with good integration of text and pictures