London Book of Lists: The City’s Best, Worst, Oldest, Greatest, and Quirkiest

For London lovers of all stripes, National Geographic London Book of Lists chronicles this ever-changing city from its ancient Roman origins to the present day. Organized with a minimum of organization, the 140 lists in this eclectic and hugely entertaining illustrated compendium cover the city’s best, worst, highest, smallest, first, last, and everything in-between. Among the many intriguing facts, stats, and snippets, you’ll discover:

- Where you can find six old windmills within the confines of metropolitan London
- Why the women’s restroom at an East End pub is especially popular with avant-garde artists
- When a tornado razed nearly 600 houses and destroyed London Bridge
- The address of the only London flat where the four members of the Beatles lived together
- Why local children beat the stone boundaries outside the Tower of London with willow branches every three years
- Where you can find London’s eight best waterfront pubs, seven greatest Victorian gin palaces, and ten most historic pubs
- Which two famous London museums still show World War II bomb damage on their outer walls

Royal palaces. Street markets. Stellar views. Cockney slang. Favorite meals of kings. Roman ruins. Secrets lost to time. With surprises on every page, National Geographic London Book of Lists takes you deep inside the city that never fails to fascinate.

TIM JEPSON was born near the River Thames and grew up on the fringes of London, close to Amersham, the second-most outlying station on the city’s Tube, or subway system. Since 1985, interspersed with periods living and traveling abroad, he has lived in London itself, first in Islington and latterly in Notting Hill. He has written six other books for National Geographic and is a guide and expert for National Geographic Expeditions. His travel articles have appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Vogue, Conde Nast Traveller, and other publications.

LARRY PORGES has been a book editor at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., for more than a decade. He was born in New York and lived in London for five years, three of those in Maida Vale. Porges studied English history at Tufts University and the British and European Studies Group, London. He wrote the 2011 revision of the National Geographic guidebook to London, was a contributing author on the National Geographic e-book Quintessential London, and has been published in National Geographic Traveler magazine and other publications. Despite frequent trips back, he misses London, especially the London Evening Standard, Little Venice, and being surrounded by people who still think of Starburst as Opal Fruits.