Book description
First published in 1987, Peter Brimblecombe's book provides an engaging historical account of air pollution in London, offering a fascinating insight into the development of air pollution controls against a changing social and economic background. He examines domestic and industrial pollution and their effects on fashions, furnishings, buildings and human…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Big Smoke as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Most of us think air pollution's a relatively recent problem that started back in the Industrial Revolution, but as Peter Brimblecombe demonstrates in this wonderfully readable book, it's a much older problem with deeper roots, linked to broader trends in how humans have used and abused the planet. I generally hate history, but I loved this book: it's superbly scholarly but also riveting and well-written, and tiny telling details make what could have been a very dull subject really fascinating. It was originally published in 1987, so it doesn't cover recent history, but it's still worth reading nevertheless.
From Chris' list on air pollution and what we can do about it.
If you love The Big Smoke...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like The Big Smoke?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 94 books like The Big Smoke.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,340
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Big Smoke, you might also like...
Foxfire in the Snow
It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
The Main Gate
Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.
Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…
