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London: The 10 Best Books (and 10 worth tracking down)
Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary BuildingsSpectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings by David Long
Buy new: £11.49 / Used from: £7.85
So you thought you knew London? Informed, entertaining, generously illustrated; a born storyteller who has clearly spent years crawling around the streets looking for the bits the other books miss
The London Encyclopaedia (3rd Edition)The London Encyclopaedia (3rd Edition) by Christopher Hibbert
Buy new: £29.04 / Used from: £18.00
Still my 'Desert Island Discs' book, after more than 25 years.
Tunnels, Towers and Temples: London's 100 Strangest PlacesTunnels, Towers and Temples: London's 100 Strangest Places by David Long
Buy new: £11.49 / Used from: £10.49
Hilarious but similarly enlightening sequel to Spectacular Vernacular, and very much more of the same. Strange places, and the stories behind them.
The London Rich: The Creation of a Great City from 1666 to the PresentThe London Rich: The Creation of a Great City from 1666 to the Present by Peter Thorold
Buy used from: £3.03
How London developed, as seen through the lifestyles and homes of the very rich
Chambers London GazetteerChambers London Gazetteer by Russ Willey
Buy new: £17.00 / Used from: £4.64
The best gazetteer yet, covering everywhere you'd expect and more importantly about a thousand other places you've probably never heard of
Lights Out for the Territory: 9 Excursions in the Secret History of LondonLights Out for the Territory: 9 Excursions in the Secret History of London by Iain Sinclair
Buy used from: £0.40
London's unauthorised biography, by a man with a wild and original mind
DocklandDockland by S. K. Naib
Buy used from: £4.81
Fantastic hands-on guide to docklands past and present; the essential guide for anyone who goes strolling about out there
Guide To The Architecture Of LondonGuide To The Architecture Of London by Edward Jones
Buy used from: £27.21
The best pocket guide on the subject, but five years on needs updating
London: Sight Unseen: A Personal View of LondonLondon: Sight Unseen: A Personal View of London by Gwyn Headley
Buy used from: £0.07
The author knows London well, and clearly loves its hidden corners
London Under London: A Subterranean GuideLondon Under London: A Subterranean Guide by Richard Trench
Buy used from: £19.87
Fascinating poke around down below: tunnels, trains, bunkers and bowels
Private Palaces: Life in the Great London HousesPrivate Palaces: Life in the Great London Houses by Christopher Simon Sykes
Buy used from: £7.18
A colourful history of the rise of the great town houses, and their eventual fate
Making the Metropolis: Creators of Victoria's LondonMaking the Metropolis: Creators of Victoria's London by Stephen Halliday
Buy used from: £2.22
The creation of Victorian London, and the men who made it happen
City at Risk: A Close Look at London's StreetsCity at Risk: A Close Look at London's Streets by Simon Jenkins
Buy used from: £0.37
Part guide, part call-to-arms, and 30-odd years on an epitaph for the city the developers strive hard to destroy
Number Ten Downing Street: The Story of a HouseNumber Ten Downing Street: The Story of a House by Christopher Jones
Buy used from: £0.01
The story of what goes on behind the most famous door in the world
The Londoner's Almanac: A Book of London ListsThe Londoner's Almanac: A Book of London Lists by Russell Ash
Buy new: £2.95 / Used from: £0.01
A dated but fascinating trivia round-up
The City (A Quartet/Visual Arts Book)The City (A Quartet/Visual Arts Book) by Sandy MacLachlan
Buy used from: £0.01
A colourful glimpse into the sometimes secretive world of the City
The Little Book of LondonThe Little Book of London by David Long
Buy new: £5.61 / Used from: £3.00
The best loo-book on London, strange but compelling and a great Xmas gift: 10,000 ridiculous things everyone ought to know
Village London: the story of Greater London, part I:  West and North : West and North Vol 1Village London: the story of Greater London, part I: West and North : West and North Vol 1 by Edward Walford
Buy used from: £2.13
The first of an excellent four-volume reprint of this detailed 1883 citywide history
St James's Square: People, Houses, HappeningsSt James's Square: People, Houses, Happenings by Denys Forrest
Buy new: £17.58 / Used from: £8.00
The West End's best, described building by building, who built it, who lived there and who owns it now
London as it Might Have BeenLondon as it Might Have Been by Felix Barker
Buy used from: £41.50
Exactly what the title says it is: a look at all the great schemes which (mostly sadly) were never completed