London: A History in Maps (hardback)

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As featured in the Guardian Christmas gifts 2012: the best history books

Over the past 2000 years London has developed from a small town, fitting snugly within its walls, into one of the world's largest and most dynamic cities. London: A History in Maps illustrates and helps to explain the transformation using over 400 examples of maps. Side-by-side with the great, semi-official but sanitised images of the whole city, there are the more utilitarian maps and plans of the parts - actual and envisaged - which perhaps present more than topographical records. They all have something unique to say about the time when they were created. Peter Barber's book reveals the 'inside story' behind one of the world's greatest cities.

About the author
Peter Barber is Head of Map Collections at the British Library. His many books include The Map Book (2005) and (with Tom Harper) Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art (British Library, 2010).

Reviews
`These maps are more than mere topographical records – they reflect the concerns of their times, charting the geography of the city but also its politics and 2,000 years of social history.` The Times
`... a coffee table book that deserves to be read and studied... beautiful and engaging...` Darren Richard Carlaw, New York Journal of Books
`A must for every lover of maps, urban historian or smart coffee table books...` Museums & Heritage Magazine
`...tells the story of the metropolis through the works of the cartographers who captured it over the centuries` David Horspool, The Guardian