The history of the London underground is only a part of the history of London - a history that started only with the world's first underground railway in 1863 (the Metropolitan line) - but it is an important part. The very existence of the London Transport Museum is testament to that. Philip Trimm, the archaeologist who is managing a major dig at a park called Coram’s Fields. He’s thoroughly unlikable and detests Carmen.

In their earliest diagrams the companies that became London Underground imposed their lines on a “base map” showing the local streets. But realistic geography faded away as the lines promoted their own concept of themselves. For example, on maps of Metroland, the suburb created by the Metropolitan Railway, golf clubs loomed disproportionately. The first disused underground station is that at King William Street where ambition exceeded experience in engineering and which opened in 1890, only to close in 1900. As in all cases, the authors then tell the story of the subsequent use the tunnels were put to and their state today. Throughout, the illustrations are a pleasure in themselves, whether pictures of decay that evoke the world of the horror film 'Death Line', photographs, charts, posters or plans. Abandoned tunnels litter the London beneath its inhabitants, some I have walked in abandoned within my memory.A fascinating book, likely to be of interest to anyone travelling on the London Underground. The history and information in this book will enrich passengers journeys and cause some reflection or admiration for how it came to be. And where it may go in the future. I wish the author and publishers all the very best with this wonderful, engaging and informative book. NetGalley, Lachlan Finlayson Bringing the story to life are intriguing and compelling characters like Inspector Sherwood Peets, the quiet thinker who’s lonely after an unsavory divorce and the independent Carmen Kingsley a stubborn, compulsive and intense academic who’s sensitive to stimuli because of Asperger’s. These characters and others infuse the story with excitement, depth and energy. Like the Dog show I judge each story by what it is. I don't compare metaphorical Basset hounds agianst poodles. if it weren't for the ending this might have been ranked higher. There are larger themes that run through all these stories. In the early years we have rampant entrepreneurial capitalism speculatively putting risk capital into lines to move workers and incidentally or deliberately creating opportunities for even more profitable property speculation. I was expecting the book's focus to be solely on the history of the map; however, this book actually looks at the entire history of the network, spanning its inception, construction. I think it's a richer read for exploring the wider history to understand and explain decisions.

I first took an interest in history of the London Underground map and typeface as a design student and have a small amount of knowledge about the topic already, so I was thrilled that this book covered so much I didn't know. It is a pretty dense read. I actually loved this and came away having learned a lot. It is clearly extremely well researched and the author's passion for the topic is evident throughout. The result is a wonderfully insightful and comprehensive guide to the history of the London Underground network. Highly commendable" Oxfordshire Family History Society - Oxfordshire Family Historian, Volume 37, No.1, April 2023

My Lines

Then we have the hinge of British recent history - the war - where the underground had a double function of protecting the people from air warfare and ensuring that the state administration and war effort could run unhindered by turning tunnels into administrative and control assets. A fascinating book covering not just the history of the Underground map but of the Underground itself. Recommended.

The world's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, which opened in 1863, is now part of the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines; the first line to operate underground electric traction trains, the City & South London Railway in 1890, is now part of the Northern line. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2014-15 carried 1.305 billion passengers, making it the world's 11th busiest metro system. This is a very special book which not only looks at the history of the London Underground Map but also gives much more interesting details of the London Underground in general. Written in a very easy readable style, Caroline Roope leaves no stone unturned in her research which looks at the notorious rivalry between Sir Edward Watkin (Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway) and James Staats Forbes (Chairman of the Metropolitan District Railway) amongst many other notable personalities of the day. The story of how the Underground map evolved is almost as troubled and fraught with complexities as the transport network it represents. Mapping the Underground was not for the faint-hearted – it rapidly became a source of frustration, and in some cases obsession – often driving its custodians to the point of distraction. The solution, when eventually found, would not only revolutionise the movement of people around the city but change the way we visualise London forever. This extraordinarily well-illustrated book is much more than its title suggests........This is a very important contribution to how we understand what the London Underground has given to the metropolis, much more than just its internationally recognised ‘map’. The Historian – Autumn 2022

One could be forgiven for wondering if there was anything new to be said about the London Underground map. However, this excellent and entertaining book takes the whole story of the creation and expansion of the Underground network and shows how maps of the system have had to develop and change as the network became more complex and difficult to understand. The book is really a popular summation of the recent work of the London Transport Museum which may be classed as archaeological, historical and sometimes selectively conservationist although the budgetary implications of full conservation would be too great for the creaking system to bear. A man named Sherwood enters the underground tube: “Riding London’s tube lifts always felt like a thirty-second fall from grace. The ancient machines issued forth a continuous series of ominous sounds, inevitably coming to a halt with a loud clank, as though Lucifer himself were rattling his chains in anticipation of their arrival.” This is the setting for what is to follow. A first class book and highly recommended to not only London Underground enthusiasts but also anyone interested in the history of railways. Peter A. Harding, Branch Line & Light Railway Publications