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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Underground

Ganesh

13:54 / 10.10.01

I am in love with the London Underground. Not in a moist, fleshy way, y'understand (not even my relatively oversized pachydermal cock is that big); I find myself seduced and carried away by the sheer romance of it all. The twining technicolour maze is a thing of wonder, travelling is like being borne upon some vast, ebbing, flowing tide of humanity. I people-watch fearlessly, knowing I'll likely never see these individuals again...

How did it come about? Why are the stations so named? What's the history of the 'ghost stations'? Does the King in Yellow live somewhere down there, or merely naff 'Neverwhere' archetypes? Blue mould?

Can anyone recommend me a good book which'd answer some of these questions?

Doctor Sax

15:58 / 10.10.01

There was a series of poems commissioned a few years back to celebrate the underground, which was collected into a book.

Which is not what you were asking, I know. But I'm sure I've got a novel somewhere that goes into all that. I'll have a dig.

mondo a-go-go

19:19 / 10.10.01

in terms of history, names of stations etc, the london transport museum in covent garden is a good bet. the bookshop has some fascinating books if you're into that shit...

sleazenation

22:22 / 10.10.01

There are a fair few stations in and around londong that have closed for one reason and another- such as strand station - the tunnes and station are still intact and all- just no trains go there...

apparently while Salmon Rushdie was in hiding he spent several months living on a platform of a disused underground station

Opalfruit

08:15 / 11.10.01

The London Underground has always fascinated me, when I was a child just going onto the London Underground was like entering some different and ancient world, yellow tiles, dark tunnels and strange echos. The moaning of the tube trains as they left the platform, the woosh, roar and clicks in the distant tunnels that could have been anything.

Never read up on it though, used to see disused stations and weird turn offs and other trains passing in the dark, only to suddenly veer off in another direction. Ahh, memories.

Ierne

12:46 / 11.10.01

You probably know about this by now, but...

thetube.com

just might help...

Kit-Cat Club

16:47 / 11.10.01

This is probably not exactly what you were thinking of, but there *is* a new book of arty photos of the underground stations just published, probably by Phaidon or at a pinch Thames and Hudson.

I also seem to remember a book about the abandoned stations, but that was a couple of years back and may be difficult to find - and anyway I can't remember what it was called.

Other than that Kooky's suggestion sounds like your best bet.

The Return Of Rothkoid

17:16 / 11.10.01

The book Macavity is thinking of (I think) is available in Soho Books; in Soho, funnily enough. I've forgotten the name, but it's a photo-heavy history, is the size of a piece of A4 and about an inch thick. It's £26 or so, and I made a point of grubbily examining the open copy whenever I'm in there. If you're around Soho, check it out.

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