Product Description

Some of the most beautiful views of London are those from the many bridges which span the River Thames. Millions of people cross over the Thames every day but most are too concerned with reaching their destination to notice the structures they use, let alone consider their history or the risks taken in building them. Triumphs of architecture and engineering, London's bridges have inspired artists as diverse as Dickens and Monet. From the elegant Richmond Bridge to the Gothic, quintessentially British Tower Bridge, they have formed the backdrop to battles, rebellions, pageantry and mysteries for two millennia. "Crossing the River" tells these stories, including the assassination of a dissident with a poisoned umbrella on Waterloo Bridge; the apparent suicide of 'God's banker', an Italian financier with links to the Vatican, the Masons and the Mafia; and the Marchioness tragedy and its controversial aftermath. Featuring illustrations and photographs old and new, this book will undoubtedly increase the reader's knowledge and appreciation of the bridges and the people who built them, and thereby enhance the pleasure of seeing them, whether at leisure or stuck in a traffic jam.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #181832 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
Brian Cookson is a former computer consultant who since 1993 has worked as a London tourist guide and lecturer on the capital's history. He is also the author of London's Waterside Walks.

Customer Reviews

Crosing the River review
This must be the definitive book on the London Thames bridges, bringing Pudney's earlier book up to date. It contains full historical details about each bridge including photos of the old bridges. It also describes the basic bridge design tyoes in layman's terms. The colour photos of the present bridges are excellent. It is not a light read, so probably best read in chunks rather than right through at one go.

Interesting book with some odd errors
Overall this is indeed an interesting and informative book. However, there are at least a couple of errors (certainly in my edition, which I purchased at the end of last year). First, on page 128 he writes:
" Albert Bridge is now Grade II listed. Its survival would have pleased William Blake...".
Now I can only assume that the writer means William Blake the famous artist and visionary. However, William Blake died in 1827 and Albert Bridge opened in 1873.
Secondly, on page 185 when writing about the Hungerford family he states that:
" The record of violence was begun in the fourteenth century by Agnes Hungerford...". After detailing her crime he tells us that "...this resulted in her execution at Tyburn in 1523".
Well, just as 1982 was in the twentieth century not the nineteenth, then 1523 was in the sixteenth and not the fourteenth, unless she was possessed of a remarkable longevity.