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London's Thames

London's Thames

by Gavin Weightman (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2004

    $3.35
Synopsis

Without the Thames there would be no London. From earliest times, the city's needs --whether for stone, gold or coal, for hay to feed livestock or food, or wine and spices for human beings -- were supplied from the river, as the fierce tides brought ships upstream or carried them down again. Only with the age of trunk road and rail did London's global importance as a port diminish. Even after that the tides continued to drive the great power stations. Gavin Weightman's fascinating book is the best possible introduction to the water and its ways, the buildings that line the banks, and the people who lived by the river, their customs and ancient knowledge. The Thames is here in every guise -- highway and barrier, source of power and source of life, place of entertainment, port, and drainpipe. Above all one feels the presence of the great waterway itself, a force of nature in our urban midst.

$3.35

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Quantity

4 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 160
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: John Murray
Published: 10 May 2004
ISBN 10: 0719564115
ISBN 13: 9780719564116

Media Reviews
'Packed with facinating facts and written with elegance and affection' -- Numast Telegraph 20040815 'Much of this fascinating book is guaranteed to make readers, especially if they live in London, nostalgic for the glory days of the river Thames...As well as being a brisk historical survey of the Thames, and its importance to the capital, London's Thames is extremely interesting on more recent aspects of the river's life...Weightman includes some horrifying detail on the effects of Victorian home improvements such as the water closet...Quoting extensively from contemporary accounts, and illustrated sparingly, but effectively, this is a worthy account of the Thames and its history...a gentle drift along the river, looking at some of the quirkier aspects of London life from frost fairs to the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, becomes a passionate and unnerving discussion about the extremely real possibility of the Thames flooding the city...we should enjoy this riverside while we can - and, having read this book, I will enjoy it much more.' -- The Tablet 20040814 'Nothing is left out, watermen, barges, bridges, and even the University Boat Race and Thames Barrier are included in this book.' -- Ship's monthly 20050401 'Weightman clearly loves the Thames' -- Andy Beckett, The Guardian 20040724 'Much of this fascinating book is guaranteed to make readers ... nostalgic for the glory days of the river Thames.' -- The Tablet 20040815 'An inimitable style' -- London Society Journal 20041101
Author Bio
In his career as a documentary film maker and author, Gavin Weightman has become well known as a specialist on London. He has written before on the Thames, in London River. He has also produced TV programmes and books on The Making of Modern London and City Safari, in the second of these taking a particular interest in the fish and fowl of the Thames. He is himself a Londoner.