Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Pen & Sword Publishing, and Callum Moy for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.
I love visiting London. More than once, a friend has arranged a pub crawl for us when we visit, focusing on different things. With a trip coming up soon, I saw this available on Netgalley and thought I could advocate for some different selections after reading it.
While this book purports to be a guide to pubs in London, it’s actually loaded up with history. The author seems to be trying to point to locations with a great historical impact and then talk about a pub that’s near that location. Unfortunately, that meant the book was about 90% history and about 10% pubs. The descriptions of the pubs don’t say much, either. Usually, it was a generic “variety of local drafts and food” which really doesn’t tell me anything. However, having been educated in the United States, I enjoyed reading the history of London, which wasn’t covered in our history books on this side of the pond. I was particularly interested in how London came to be during the Roman Empire and how the various cities within it were formed, as well as the history of the areas of the city.
Then, I read the section titled It’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll, Moy states: The foundations of Soho were discussed earlier (see page 96). Its reputation as a centre of rock and pop music can be traced to the Second World War when the genre was introduced by American troops stationed in London. I was incredulous. There might have been blues, big band, and jazz brought over by the troops in World War II, but certainly not rock ‘n’ roll which didn’t come about until the 1950s. After reading this, I wondered how much of the history presented here was accurate.
I’ve been to some of the pubs he highlights in this book, and I think he could have written more about the pubs themselves and their history and less about the general history of the area they are located in. I learned more about the pubs themselves from my friend’s planning than from this book.
There are many better guidebooks out there for London and for pubs. While I enjoyed learning about London’s history, I can’t be sure how accurate it is. Maps might have helped to understand where the pubs are located. I wouldn’t recommend this one.
Share this:
Categories: Book Reviews
Two observations:
1. We Americans aren’t taught enough about our own country, so it’s not surprising that we’re not taught much about other countries’ histories in our formative years. Here, most kids are on their own to expand – or not to expand – their perspectives about American and world history. (I know this, because I learned most of the military and political history that I know independently from schools, especially when I was a minor and had to go to school.)
2. Seriously? Someone actually wrote that Americans imported rock and roll to Britain during World War II? (Guffaw.)