London from Punk to Blair: Revised Second Edition

(Paperback, 2nd edition)

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Description

London is known as a metropolitan, ordered city full of tourist attractions and exclusive shops, but the real face of the city disordered, chaotic, sprawling, vigorous, untamed remains unseen and unexplored. London from Punk to Blair is a portrait of Europe's foremost capital. An array of contributors, including poets, journalists, teachers, historians, wanderers, drinkers, photographers and foodies, offer a selection of personal and subjective readings of the city since the late '70s. The contributors chart a variety of literal and metaphorical explorations through modern and postmodern London, showing how it works, and how it fails to work; what makes it vibrant, and what makes it seedy. From West End galleries to strip pubs in Shoreditch; from millionaires' loft apartments to buses and suburban Tube stops; from film, fashion and gay clubs to punk bands, ruinous factories, pigeon filth and the vagaries of weather, London from Punk to Blair embraces the city like no other book has before.

Reviews

this re-release of a noughties classic will show you the gritty undercover aspects of our great capital city. It offers an awesome selection of essays that take you on a journey from London in the 1970s to the present day. * Loaded *
the essays in this volume try to make sense of this ancient, beguiling city. In more than 30 articles, writers eloquently explore what it was like to be in London in the dying years of the last century. * The Guardian *
this volume of essays is full of insight into the diverse experiences that constitute the recent history of London. * ArchitectsJournal *
This rewarding collection of thirty-four essays . . . brings into clear focus those dramatic shifts in the fortunes of the metropolis . . . in a cover-to-cover reading gives a satisfying sequence of perceptions which slowly build on each other . . . beautiful revealing insights into particular ways of understanding and using the city. * London Society Journal *
Read this fascinating glimpse of our capitals recent past by all means. Let it do as it promises and open your eyes to parts of the city you have never seen before. * Diplomat Magazine *
The introduction is a powerful evocation of changing London through the past 25 years. Co-editor Joe Kerr is a great writer . . . there is plenty for every taste. The fun is in the discovery of new and rediscovery of old alike. * Building Design *

Author Bio

Andrew Gibson (Anthology Editor)
Andrew Gibson is Professor of Modern Literature and Theory at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is the author of Ulysses (2002), Samuel Beckett (Reaktion, 2010). He is coeditor of Reaktion's London from Punk to Blair and the author of Joyce's Revenge: History, Politics and Aesthetics in Ulysses and James Joyce, the latter also published by Reaktion.

Joe Kerr (Anthology Editor)
Joe Kerr is Head of Programme in the Department of Critical & Historical Studies at the Royal College of Art, London, and co-editor of Autopia (Reaktion, 2002) and London from Punk to Blair (Reaktion, 2003).