London Voices, London Lives ─ Tales from a Working Capital

Hall (planning and regeneration, University College London, UK) provides a snapshot of London through excerpts from interviews with approximately 100 people from eight localities in the city. Background on social and economic aspects is woven with interview excerpts in the first section, which is divided by area: Battersea, Bermondsey, Upton Park, Heston, Eltham, Gants Hill, and Greenhithe. This is followed by a focus on themes in the interviewees' lives, such as economic struggle, finding the right neighborhood, transportation, social relationships, crime, and diversity, and how they feel about politics and the future of the city. The book uses interviews not included in a previous volume published by Hall and other authors: Working Capital: Life and Labour in Contemporary London from 2002. The present volume is aimed at sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, planners, and social policymakers. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)