Bruce Marshall (3)

In New York, they tear down and start again; London tends to retain and restore.

The re-making of London since 1990 has been astonishing. The process had already started during the Thatcherite eighties, and I saw it firsthand as each visit revealed something new and marvelous. Yet, the character of the city that is really a nation remains the same, which is quite a wonderful feat. Wren remains, Adam remains, Nash remains, but London prepared itself for the 21st century with inspiring architecture.

This book is a terrific accompaniment to [b:Lost London: 1870 - 1945|7519938|Lost London 1870 - 1945 |Philip Davies|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348278330s/7519938.jpg|9738276], as the reader can mourn for some lost treasures while admiring the new births. The photographs in this volume include 19th century shots, providing the reader with a clear view of the constant changes that have taken place over the decades.

Nowadays, I tell friends to meet up at the 'John Hurt Building'. Known to everyone else as the Swiss Re skyscraper (the Gherkin), I named it differently as it reminds me of the scene in ALIEN where John Hurt investigates the similar shaped objects and then gets the facehugger treatment. Vivid.

Book Season = Spring (of things to come)… (mehr)

This is one of those very large, heavy folio books full of remarkable photographs of London buildings , London through the ages, London construction, London scenes and London architecture. It is published by Universe Publishing of New York and printed in China , so long gone are the days when such a wonderful souvenir of the city would have been written and published in London. There appears to be a parallel volume on New York. Nonetheless it adds to a library of books on London. The book captures change in London through 150 years and matches the making of the modern city to the photographs which have been diligently sourced from archival sources. The early history of London hardly features. The book conveys the energy, speedy transforamtion and dramatic impact of the great engineering works to construct the bridges, the canals, the railway stations, the modern highways, the public housing, the theatres, the churches, the palaces, the prisons, the towers and the skyscrapers of London. There is a good mix of interior and exterior photos and the recent coloured photographs prove to be quite compatible with the grainy earlier black and white or sepia shots. Its the photographs that make this book. It is a peon to the civil engineers, developers and their cranes as they have made and then remade the city of today, with its complex road system as traffic has become more frenetic. I have never found London an easy city to grapple with and each time I visit I enjoy a different perch or bed for the nights I am there. I have never lived in London but through the decades since the 1970s I have grown to love London as I have explored the city and engaged with its history. My favourite spot for a sojourn was a two week penthouse stay above the neon lights of Piccadilly circus watching the changing scene through 24 hours. My son was born in Lambeth and it is he who is the true Cockney - I happened to be passing through. This is a book that gives you roots in London. " When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" said Dr Samuel Johnson and this is a book that makes sure you look at London of today and yesterday with an engaged curiosity. Recommended with pleasure and enthusiasm.… (mehr)

'New Geography' Aims a Lens on a Dynamic Planet
by John Van Pelt.

Christian Science Monitor, September 18, 1991

- THIS extravagantly illustrated book is as suited to a coffee table as to a reference library, but in either case, expect it to be well-thumbed. Page after page, "The Real World" dazzles with macro views of satellite imagery, photographic panoramas, and micro detail in meticulously crafted diagrams. All this is accompanied by captivating text that fulfills the promise of consultant editor Risa Palm's preface: "Geography can help us understand not only what is where, but why it is there...."
Those words define the "new geography" of the book's title. Old geography was vastly more technical, and stressed rote memorization. New geography, as exemplified here, makes traditional studies such as geology, demographics, cartography, history, and economics accessible in a popular idiom.
It seems courageous to suggest that this book provides answers to age-old questions of politics and prejudice, but in fact geography has always held that promise. "The Real World" offers these answers to more than the ordained economist or historian.
Even as divisive an issue as patterns of race and income in Philadelphia is looked at through the cool lens of global urbanization. Yet in the fascinating connections they draw, the editors avoid lazy interpretations and sensationalistic trivia. This is not McGeography. Cities - and their patterns of streets and dwellings - reflect climate, cultural influences, religion, military strategy, commercial needs, and political phil- osophy.
Thumbnail-sized locator maps help the reader navigate the globe as Paris, Ulan Bator (Mongolia), Miletus (Greece), and Fes (Morocco) are highlighted as examples.
Islands, contrary to expectation, are not usually singular nation states. Most are either part of larger political units or are subdivided into smaller states. This information is part of the lesson on how natural and political boundaries interact. Facts are played in context; the book presents the use of mud in "vernacular" architecture, not in a chapter on Kenyan nomads as a traditional text might, but in a chapter on homebuilding.
Global warming is treated as a serious threat - it has four entries in the book's excellent index, including "threat to micro-states," where we learn that a rise in sea level would eliminate the island nation of Kiribati.
The chapter "Humans Emergent" gives an account of evolution, skirting the thornier issues of biological determinism. It continues through 1492 to the modern age, with timely echoes of 1992's coming quincentennial of Columbus's famed odyssey. "Before Columbus," readers learn, "people, animals, and crops were largely confined to their own continents." Dozens of examples are given of the far-reaching consequences of "European conquest."
Minor criticisms: The type size is a little small for comfort, and the captions often don't immediately identify what's in the picture. The overall design feels self-conscious but is nevertheless effective and makes the most of the wealth of illustration.
The book places readers at a new mental frontier: "If we could hold the Earth in the palm of our hands...." The echo of that metaphor is sustained in every passage. Only now, 30-odd years into the space age, can we take it so literally. As one reads, one enters a "now we know everything" frame of mind. But the writing doesn't sound conceited, even though it treats every phenomenon and conflict as the interplay of understood forces.
One day "The Real World" will fall victim to the advancing times and seem dated or slanted or narrow. In phrases such as "in the late 20th century" one can read the editors' attempt to extend the book's life span. But it's possible the science of geography has reached a pinnacle in this volume.
The questions that remain as the 21st century approaches - questions of food and population, spiritual and moral values, fairness and equality, questions of environmental protection, quality of life, and peace amid nuclear proliferation - are for leaders and for the people. The geographers have done their job for now.… (mehr)