Coming Soon

Stockholm: The Making of a Metropolis

Thomas Hall, University of Stockholm

This is the first history in English of Stockholm’s development from the city’s unique seventeenth-century redevelopment and extension to the postmodern, postindustrial trends of today. While the city’s planners borrowed ideas from abroad at certain periods, they provided the lead for the rest of the world at others. Indeed for much of the mid-twentieth century Stockholm was the model for Europe and elsewhere. Written by the acknowledged authority on the city and Swedish architecture and planning generally, with a unique range of maps, plans, drawings and photographs, this book will provide a much needed explanation of one of Europe’s great cities.

ISBN 9780415339995

London Voices, London Lives: tales from a working capital
by Peter Hall

London Voices London Lives: Tales from a Working Capital tells the story of ordinary twenty-first century London lives through the voices of ordinary Londoners.

Interviews with more than one hundred people in eight contrasting localities, ranging from inner-city Battersea, to suburban Heston, to Greenhithe on the London fringe, have been edited and provided with commentary by Professor Sir Peter Hall.

The first half of the book, London Voices, introduces the cast of characters – their hopes and aspirations, their everyday frustrations and struggles, their fierce determination and optimism. The second, London Lives, introduces the themes that dominate their everyday lives: the struggle to keep their heads above water, the search for a place to live, the hassle of the journey to work, their friends and neighbours, their concerns about crime, and the quality of their everyday lives.

This is a unique social record but also a compelling read, with almost the qualities of a realist novel.  And it will provide a mine of information, for generations of future historians, of the state of one of the world’s greatest cities at the height of its wealth and power.

Published July 2007 by Policy Press, Bristol
512 pages with photographs by Bill Knight
Paperback £24.99 ISBN 978 1 86134 983 5
Hardback £65.00 ISBN 978 1 86134 984 2

‘This is a fascinating read. Hall’s interviews illustrate the enormous diversity of people and perspectives that make London what it is, and the amazing capacity of Londoners to deal with the constant evolution upon which our city thrives.’  Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London

‘London Voices, London Lives is an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the lives and attitudes of ordinary Londoners. Peter Hall has done a remarkable job of framing and knitting together the voices of a cross-section of London’s population.’  Susan S. Fainstein, Harvard University

‘This book does a brilliant job of capturing the contradictory experiences of the winners and the losers, the people in the fast lane and those being left behind, in a city going through a period of extraordinary change.’ Geoff Mulgan, Director, The Young Foundation

To order go to:
https://www.policypress.org.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1410