Synopsis
This is London in the eyes of its the homeless, bankers, coppers, gangsters, carers and sex workers.
This is London in the voices of Poles, Arabs, Afghans, Nigerians, Romanians and Russians.
This is London as you've never seen it before.
Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction 2016
Shortlisted for the Ryszard Kapuscinski Award for Literary Reportage 2019
'This is London is an important and impressive book' Telegraph
'Full of nuggets of unexpected information about the lives of others . . . It recalls the journalism of Orwell' Financial Times
'Ben Judah grabs hold of London and shakes out its secrets' The Economist
Details
11 August 2016
352 pages
9781447276272
Imprint: Picador
Reviews
“This is of my favourite books on London, largely because of the quality of the writing – such sass, such soaring confidence and style . . . Judah listens and observes with acute loyalty to depicting truth, so that no matter who’s talking, the dialogue seems brilliantly accurate. Well researched, it covers all corners of London in forensic detail”Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People
“This truly extraordinary book is as raw, powerful, unflinching, witty, engaging, shocking, in-your-face and occasionally both heartwarming and heartbreaking as the great but complex and flawed city it chronicles. I've lived in London for three decades yet found something I didn't know about it on virtually every page”Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon the Great
“Ben Judah offers no answers; but bears witness. He reports the stories of London's immigrants with a smart mind, a light touch and a brave and compassionate heart. These statements deserve to be heard. This is London is an important, state of the nation, eye-opening report from our increasingly ghettoized capital city”Dan Boothby, author of Island of Dreams
“Amazing”Peter Pomerantsev
