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Johnson’s Life of London

The People Who Made the City That Made the World

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Johnson’s Life of London

By: Boris Johnson
Narrated by: Boris Johnson, Jot Davies
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About this listen

London is special. For centuries, it has been amongst the greatest cities of the world. But a city is nothing without its people. This sparkling new history of London, told through a relay-race of great Londoners shows in one, personality-packed book that the ingenuity, diversity, creativity and enterprise of London are second to none.

Boris Johnson believes that in order to understand London one has to know about its past. The heart and spirit of London lies in its people, in the range of its cultures. Through its diversity and energy, London provides an environment which empowers people to create, the impetus to invent. Boris Johnson’s new book explores this cross current of influences between Westminster and the City, between the politicians and the wealth creators, over many centuries .

JOHNSON’S LIFE OF LONDON – a fitting tribute of course to one of the greatest Londoners –celebrates many of the characters who have made this city great. Boris’s book provides a chronological story of London but is written in the form of a relay race of biographies – some very famous figures, some more obscure. He ranges from the Romans to one of the author’s predecessors as mayor, Dick Whittington; from John Wilkes (a strong upholder of the freedom of the press) to J.W. Turner; from Chaucer to Gandhi, and through to modern times.

Boris Johnson writes with wit and erudition, providing the reader with delightful insights. The book discovers London as none of us have seen it before and the journey is exhilarating and surprising .

©2011 Boris Johnson (P)2011 HarperCollins Europe Great Britain

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All stars
Most relevant  
Very jealous of Boris' command of English and descriptive style. Super interesting read. I am now filled with useless but interesting info about my city

Best read in a longtime.

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Excellent book, and although the second (main) reader was good, the few chapters Boris read exuded the author's passion for the city in a way someone else could never manage.

Would have preferred author to read whole book

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I have so enjoyed this book...what a very clever, eloquent man is Boris Johnson. This should be required reading in all schools! So proud of him and our beloved London!

Fantastic

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This is my second book by Boris Johnson. I bought it after having listened to "The Churchill Effect".

As an anglophile and knowing London a little, the theme of the book appealed to me. And having liked my first book by Mr. Johnson quite a lot, the choice was made quite easily.

Again, all in all, a very enjoyable book: serious, but not too much so; at times funny and at others emotional; factual, well written and well read, partially by the author.

But there's more than 'simply' history in this book. Throughout it, Boris Johnson incorporates two major characters as a guide between the people he's talking about. The main character being, of course, the City of London itself and the second one being nothing else than his bike!

As in the book about Churchill (which I'd like to recommend again here), one gets more than a glimpse in the author's liking and preferences. Certain historical figures or even rock stars have clearly taken up some space in Boris' heart and the listener can feel it.

Again, as a Belgian, I know almost nothing about the politician, but I certainly do like the author and his work.

Recommended!

Boris is a fanboy! And so am I!

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If you could sum up Johnson's Life of London in three words, what would they be?

Fascinating and engaging.

How could the performance have been better?

The engineering is very very poor. The first millisecond of each new break sentence is missing. When Johnson himself is narrating (the book is poorer when he does) you can hear him turning paper pages over. Shockingly shabby standards.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Enjoyed the content and the nature of subject selection!

Good but Poorly Produced

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This is an entertaining and informative book - which you would expect considering the author’s standing. However there were a few chapters which I fast forwarded. I was keen to learn of the social, economic, religious and political developments of London.
There was not enough emphasis on this as the author tended to focus on biographies of individuals. Whilst relevant, they were over long and failed to add to the chronological detail which makes a book like this worthwhile.

Some digressions which detract from the overall narrative

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After listening to and thoroughly enjoying Unleashed, I gave this a go. Whilst I am enjoying it, having a second narrater kind of ruins it. Maybe it’s because Boris’ house was undergoing renovations that some chapters needed re-recording.
However, it is hilarious to hear a circular saw in the background of Boris’ parts. Add the sound of the pages being turned and you get an experience like no other audiobook. Only Mr Johnson hahaha

Good listen but….

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Would you try another book written by Boris Johnson or narrated by Boris Johnson and Jot Davies ?

Not unless it was really read by Boris

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Not read by Boris

Would you be willing to try another one of Boris Johnson and Jot Davies ’s performances?

Only Boris

Any additional comments?

The graphic of this book clearly states "Read by the author". Sadly this is not the case. It should say "Read a little bit by the author". So if you are expecting Boris to read his book then don't buy this

Not read by Boris

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story of London, illustrated through various well and lesser known characters, was fascinating. It was lively, absorbing and fascinating. I particularly loved the chapters read by Boris Johnson whose enthusiasm about his subject, wit, broad knowledge and
Intelligence shone through. You could almost see him! What a pity he only read a couple of chapters himself although the other narrator was very good, but somehow Johnson's sparkle was missing.
I have also enjoyed Johnson's book on Churchill and do wish more of his books were available on Audible, especially if read by the author.

Wonderful

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Unfortunately, a new narrator steps into mr Johnson's shoes after a short while and takes over -- and this narrator, while acceptably entertaining, lacks the passion that Boris so clearly has.

I quite liked listening to the sound of Boris thumbing his way through the book too -- you could literally hear the pages being turned in the background.

The book is good, the story is good -- but the chapters seem to start in the wrong areas, and as such, the audio-splitting is a bit out of whack.

I haven't finished this yet, but if Boris doesn't come back and continue in his own quirky style, then I'm afraid it may have to go back.

Strange really, as he is now our PM, and I'm absolutely no Tory -- but I can still appreciate his talents even if we don't match politically.

Only partially read by Boris

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