halfmanhalfbook's review
3.0
The London skyline is world famous, from the ancient Tower of London to the latest and tallest, the Shard. But London has another city beneath the ground; most are aware of is the tube, carrying up to half a million at any one point. But there is much, much more down there.
In this book Garrett joins crews of explorers to peel back the layers of London Under. Starting in the beautiful brick lined tunnels that are the sewers of the capital, this book shows us a London that few ever see. We see rare glimpses of mothballed and closed tube stations, ventilation shafts, the mail train, World War II bunkers and secrets left over from the cold war. There are the eerie photos of communications cables in barely lit tunnels, antique control gear in telephone exchanges and into the deepest levels in the new cross rails tunnels, and so called secure storage areas...
Almost all of the infiltrations were illegal and the authorities take a dim view of people doing these things. But the world that Garret and the crews he accompanies reveal is utterly fascinating and compelling. There is precious little text in here, just an introduction to each level as you venture deeper beneath the streets with him, as the main point is the photos of the places they encounter. I liked the layout of the book, with the maps showing each layer as you descend, but the picture captions were incredibly difficult to read, being a pale grey on a darker grey. 3.5 stars overall.
In this book Garrett joins crews of explorers to peel back the layers of London Under. Starting in the beautiful brick lined tunnels that are the sewers of the capital, this book shows us a London that few ever see. We see rare glimpses of mothballed and closed tube stations, ventilation shafts, the mail train, World War II bunkers and secrets left over from the cold war. There are the eerie photos of communications cables in barely lit tunnels, antique control gear in telephone exchanges and into the deepest levels in the new cross rails tunnels, and so called secure storage areas...
Almost all of the infiltrations were illegal and the authorities take a dim view of people doing these things. But the world that Garret and the crews he accompanies reveal is utterly fascinating and compelling. There is precious little text in here, just an introduction to each level as you venture deeper beneath the streets with him, as the main point is the photos of the places they encounter. I liked the layout of the book, with the maps showing each layer as you descend, but the picture captions were incredibly difficult to read, being a pale grey on a darker grey. 3.5 stars overall.
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