London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World

Samuel Johnson once famously observed that “the man who is tired of London is tired of life.” While the gender-specific exemption of half the human race lessens the force of the argument a mite, the good doctor's aphorism underscores Loyola University (Chicago) Professor Robert Bucholz's contention that London is the greatest city in the Western world, based on its rich sociopolitical history, wide-reaching impact on world affairs, and extraordinary contributions to art and literature, not to mention Harrods. Divided into 24 lectures, this new entry in The Teaching Company's “Great Courses” series finds the ebullient and charmingly theatrical Bucholz (who doesn't just quote Churchill but does a voice impersonation) taking viewers on a rowdy romp through London's history, from its early days as a tiny outpost on the fringes of the Roman empire to its status as one of the premier world metropolises of the new millennium. Backed by maps, paintings, portraits, and photographs, Bucholz recreates London during the Middle Ages, Tudor and Stuart reigns, 18th-century (Johnson's London), Victorian and Edwardian periods, the World Wars (including a lecture devoted specifically to the Blitz), postwar London, and the Swinging Sixties, closing with a look at millennial London. Along the way, Bucholz periodically stops to examine the city through the eyes of some of its most famous authors, including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys, Johnson, and Dickens. What emerges is a testament to resiliency: conquered, sacked, burned (in the Great Fire, among other conflagrations), plague-ridden, bombed, and subjected to terrorist attacks, London has risen like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes (real and metaphorical) again and again. Featuring separately available course books (with lecture outlines, transcripts, maps, a timeline, glossary, and bibliography), London is highly recommended for high school, university, and public library collections. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)