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    Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World
    Unavailable
    Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World
    Unavailable
    Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World
    Audiobook11 hours

    Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World

    Written by Boris Johnson

    Narrated by Boris Johnson

    4/5

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    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    London is special. For centuries, it has been amongst the greatest cities of the world. But a city is nothing without its people. This sparkling new history of London, told through a relay-race of great Londoners shows in one, personality-packed book that the ingenuity, diversity, creativity and enterprise of London are second to none.

    Boris Johnson believes that in order to understand London one has to know about its past. The heart and spirit of London lies in its people, in the range of its cultures. Through its diversity and energy, London provides an environment which empowers people to create, the impetus to invent. Boris Johnson’s new book explores this cross current of influences between Westminster and the City, between the politicians and the wealth creators, over many centuries .

    JOHNSON’S LIFE OF LONDON – a fitting tribute of course to one of the greatest Londoners –celebrates many of the characters who have made this city great. Boris’s book provides a chronological story of London but is written in the form of a relay race of biographies – some very famous figures, some more obscure. He ranges from the Romans to one of the author’s predecessors as mayor, Dick Whittington; from John Wilkes (a strong upholder of the freedom of the press) to J.W. Turner; from Chaucer to Gandhi, and through to modern times.

    Boris Johnson writes with wit and erudition, providing the reader with delightful insights. The book discovers London as none of us have seen it before and the journey is exhilarating and surprising .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateNov 17, 2011
    ISBN9780007440627
    Unavailable
    Johnson’s Life of London: The People Who Made the City That Made the World
    Author

    Boris Johnson

    Boris Johnson was elected Mayor of London in May 2008. Before this he was the Editor of the Spectator and Member of Parliament for Henley on Thames. He is the author of many books, notably ‘Have I Got Views For You’, ‘Dream of Rome’ and ‘The Spirit of London’.

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    Reviews for Johnson’s Life of London

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    32 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is a good book. No, no, it's a great book, which I guess is what turns my stomach most. It's kind of like eating a cake baked by the neighbour you hate, only to find it's one of the best cakes ever. I'm not a fan of our illustrious mayor, but dude writes well (well, the guy was a journalist). He is terribly engaging, his writing evocative and filled with humour. Not only that, you read this and realise that under all those layers of buffoon, there is not only a very smart man, but also a man who loves London.

      This really is a book about Johnson's London though (/snorts at title/), the stories and the people that make London the city it is for BoJo and it's a very personal history in that way, Johnson's London being the centre of the universe, a fountain of shiny capitalism, and a demi-god of a city from whose loins culture has sprung, decorating parts of the world.

      The book floats along on a mixture of the combined egocentricity of the city and its fluffy-haired mayor, and at times I found myself snorting so often I felt like I was in a pig pen. Having said that, more often than not, I was utterly engrossed. As a born and bred Londoner who has an undying love of the city and an equal desire to get the hell away from it, I really did enjoy this. It's a small book and in no way a representation of everything that has shaped and made this city, but it's interesting and hugely entertaining and I would thoroughly recommend it. Especially to those who think Johnson is a lovable idiot - the man is as sharp as a tack. He just doesn't know how to comb his hair.

      I saw in the bookstore that the new edition has a chapter on the Olympics, which makes Boris Johnson a chapter in London's history, linking him as close to this city as to all those he admires. It's quite fitting really, love him or loathe him, he's a character and definitely belongs in a book. Oh, Boris, you wiff-waff playing floppy-haired bungle bear of a politician, if it weren't for your right-wing Tory policies, I think I'd quite like you.
    • 3/5
      Boris Johnson writes well and his love for London shines throughout the book, which makes it a pleasure to read. If, however, you are looking for a comprehensive history of London, this isn't the book for you. Mr. Johnson writes about some people, and some inventions, on the basis (it seems) of what catches his fancy. Some chapters are more interesting, and accurate, than others.
    • 5/5
      Boris Johnson, the wild haired cycling Mayor of London, wears his heart on his sleeve in this book, proclaiming London as the premier world city, leading and excelling in literature, governance, social reform, finance, art and science. He makes a strong case with wonderful biographical sketches of well-known (e.g. William the Conqueror, Shakespeare, Turner) and less well-known Londoners (Hooke, Wilkes, Rothschild). If you've heard Boris Johnson speak -100% enthusiasm, and great dose of wit and intellect- you know what to expect from this book.
    • 4/5
      A history of London through people (some well known, others should be better known) and things London is famous for.You know where Boris Johnson stands on the matter of London - he considers it the greatest city ever - and he isn't afraid to state it. In a crazy way it is both pretentious (the boasting of London) and unpretentious (he knows where he stands on issues and isn't afraid to state it)I found these vignettes of London's history interesting, entertaining and enjoyable. I don't think the book pretends to be anything else and sometimes that is what you want in a book
    • 3/5
      Rollicking Boris-like romp at random through some key characters and other oddities (waymaster bus, the gent's suit) in London's history. Some relatively new to me like John Wilkes, some very well described in context like Keith Richards - bit of hero worship, bit of gossip, bit of cultural analysis, a good journalistic hotch potch. Here and there he repeats gossip that he tells us ain't true and would be better left out. I heard this as audio book and it's topped and tailed by Boris himself, which is rumbustious fun; the rest is by an impersonal narrator who makes the Borisisms just sound a bit thin and daft.