London's history, military conscription, British ale

There was a time when newspapers ran lengthy book reviews - particularly if the subject was non-fiction and packed with interesting information. Anyway, I kick off here with a review I did for the Herald in 2002 of a history of London. Then there is a review of a book on military conscription in South Africa, followed by a look at real British ale.

The first of five "takes" of London, The Biography, by Peter Ackroyd. (Please click on the image to see the text larger. Click again and it's larger still.)

The second take of the Ackroyd book on London.

The third section.

The fourth section.

The fifth and final section. I must say when Barry Avery laid this out on the Leader page, it looked splendid.

My review of Rick Andrew's book, Buried in the Sky, which was published in the Herald on March, 3, 2002.

The first of three sections of my article on British beer, which appeared in the Leisure supplement of the Weekend Post in 2002.

The second part of the beer article.

The final part of the beer article.