London Rising; The Men Who Made Modern London

x, 390 pages. Illustrations (some in color). Notes. Bibliography. Index. Leo Hollis was born in London in 1972. He has worked as a book editor for nearly 20 years in a variety of publishing houses. He has always been committed to innovation and excellence, has accumulated global contacts and networks, and an in-depth business knowledge. He is the author of three nonfiction books, The Phoenix: the Men Who Made Modern London (U.S. Title is London Rising); The Stones of London: a History in Twelve Building and most recently the international bestseller, Cities Are Good for You: the genius of the metropolis. He is a frequent contributor to various media platforms and speaks internationally on urbanism, technology and design. Derived from a Publishers Weekly article: London in the mid-17th century remained a medieval city. The civil war, a plague that claimed 100,000 lives and the Great Fire of 1666 would have been sufficient to send it back to the Dark Ages. Instead, London was transformed into a modern metropolis. A history of such a city during that most tumultuous of centuries is a massive undertaking, but Hollis controls the narrative by focusing on the five figures who best represent the spirit of the age. John Locke, the philosopher, social observer John Evelyn; real estate developer Nicholas Barbon rebuilt the center of London (with designs by the scientific polymath Robert Hooke); and lastly, Christopher Wren, who created St. Paul's Cathedral, eternal symbol of the glittering city. Hollis admirably succeeds in explaining the complex issues and events of the time. Like a phoenix from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1666, London was reborn to become the greatest metropolis of the age. London Rising tells the story of five extraordinary men and the city they transformed. By the middle of the seventeenth century, London was on the verge of collapse. Its ancient infrastructure could no longer support its explosive growth; the English Civil War had torn society apart; and in 1665 the capital was struck by a plague that claimed 100,000 lives. And then, the following year, the Great Fire destroyed huge swaths of the city. As Leo Hollis recounts in his stirring history of the period, modern London was born out of this crucible. Among the catalysts for this rebirth were five extraordinary men, each deeply influenced by the Civil War, whose intersecting lives form the heart of London Rising: famed philosopher John Locke, whose ideas about the individual would outline a new theory of civil society based on natural rights; diarist John Evelyn, who insightfully chronicled the tumult and transformation before him; the polymathic scientist and architect Robert Hooke; developer Nicholas Barbon, who rebuilt much of the city after the fire; and Christopher Wren, astronomer, geometer, and the greatest English architect of his time, whose reconstruction of St. Paul's Cathedral was the essential symbol of London's rebirth. The city today is in great part the result of the myriad advances in literature, planning, science, and social issues forged by these five. Hollis paints a vibrant portrait of one of the world's greatest cities, and of a generation of men whose impact on London is unmatched. First U.S. Edition [stated]. First printing [stated].…