Why read Leadville?

Book cover of Leadville: A Biography of the A40

Book description

"One afternoon in January 1995, as I drove along Western Avenue, I did what I had never done before: i parked the car in a side-street and walked on to the road..."

In Leadville, Ed Platt tells the story of Western Avenue from the optimism of its construction in the…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Leadville as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rosemary Hill

Author

Platt calls this ‘a biography of the A40’ and it is about the road that most people coming and going between London and Oxfordshire drive along without looking. The suburban houses that line it, many scheduled for demolition, some empty and some squatted, intrigued Platt and he began visiting them, talking to the inhabitants and finding out how they became stranded in this hinterland. Their accounts are funny, poignant and sometimes astonishing. The A40 tells a story about the history of London and the visions and failures of urban planning in the 20th century.

From Rosemary's list on the way that architecture reflects British history.