London: A History

Veteran British historian (The Treasury of London's Past) and editor (Survey of London) Sheppard serves up a concise book that covers the entire history of the city of London in under 400 pages. Divided into six sections, the book examines Londinium, the city founded by the Romans; the city's development through the Middle Ages to the year 1530; Augustan and Georgian London from 1700 to 1830; Metropolitan and Imperial London from 1830 to 1914; and the modern era through 1997, the latter aptly titled ""The Uncertain Metropolis."" What saves Sheppard's study from the dangers of dry summary and over-concision is the author's evident keen interest in his subject. A plus is that Sheppard's knowledge isn't limited to London; he offers pertinent comparisons with other cities throughout. However, one modern comparison with Paris, meant to point up the difference between French decisiveness and British equivocation in cultural matters, misfires: Sheppard complains that the new British library took some 26 years to build, whereas the French building was opened only eight years after French President Fran ois Mitterrand argued for it. What Sheppard omits is the international dismay over the many ills caused by the haste of the French project. No matter. Sheppard is something like a more shy and modest Braudel focusing on his own narrow isle instead of the vast, gaudy Mediterranean; he earns our thanks for his decades of concentration and for the ever-refreshing zest and affection with which he describes his beloved city. 61 illustrations. (Dec.)