Above London [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Alistair Cooke (Author), Robert Cameron (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1980

Above London. Visitors to England who marvel at this lush land on their first incoming flight now have a volume to treasure forever. Here are the famed gardens, the majestic estates, the granduer of centuries of architecture. Along with Robert Cameron's areial photographs Alistair Cooke's text is brimming with the raconteur's characteristic wit and insight. The pictorial essay begins at the Thames and follows the history of the beloved city well into the countryside.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Cameron has been a photographer since 1921 when his father gave him a "Brownie" camera and encouraged him to use it. Cameron is now in his 90's and has published 16 of his "Above" books. He was a photographer for the Des Moines Register in the 1930's. Cameron learned the art of aerial photography during World War II, while shooting pictures of militaly installations for the War Department.

Cameron is a member of the Royal Photographic Society and a member of the Presidents Council of the International Center of Photography. His work has been exhibited in Paris at La Bibliotheque Historique and the Foundation Mona Bismarck. In New York at the International Center of Photography, the New York City Municipal Arts Foundation. In San Francisco at the Vision Gallery, City Hall and the Pacific Center for Photographic Arts. In Chicago's O'Hare airport. In China at the New Gallery of Art in Shanghai and at the Forbidden City. Cameron is currently working on his highly anticipated new book "Above Mexico City".

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Cameron & Company; 1st Printing edition (August 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918684102
• ISBN-13: 978-0918684103
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 14.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It would be great to be a bird, once in awhile, May 15, 2000

By 

Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Above London (Hardcover)

This is a treat for those who love London and for those who would like to know the city better. The many aerial color photos are excellent and reproduced large enough to show a lot of detail. I understand the helicopter was granted special permission to fly lower than legal in order to snap some of the shots. And the redoubtable Alistair Cooke provides the highly informative commentary for each picture. I often find myself thumbing through this volume and reliving pleasant experiences in this great city as well as spotting areas still be investigated.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The flower of cities all..., May 21, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Above London (Hardcover)

Robert Cameron and Alistair Cooke teamed up to produce a wonderful visual account of London in the late 20th century, a stunning piece that will serve as a guide for generations of what London was like during this period. I know archaeologists who would sell their souls for such a record of previous historical periods. But, the historic value of such a record is probably not the reason to have it.

Cameron had produced similar books over San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Washington D.C., and Yosemite (perhaps more by now). Alistair Cooke (yes, the Masterpiece Theatre host) convinced him to

'...collaborate on a more challenging project: a new view of a capital city that has neither picturesque mountains nor the dependable climate of Cameron's previous subjects, but one that offers as much variety and as many visible relics of centuries of history as any city on earth.'

The first plates show maps from the Middle Ages, and the same aerial view today, side by side: one can see some of the same streets and patterns, a bridge in the same location, but also (naturally) great differences. The pattern of Chelsea remains as a framework from the days of the Duke of Beaufort in some ways (including Cheyne Walk), and very different in others. A French drawing of St. James' Park looks very familiar, with the difference being the absence of Admiralty Arch which helped transform the Mall into one of the great processional routes.

Included is a drawing from the Victorian era that shows the then-new Palace of Westminster; four Frechmen proved the ability to use ballooning to scale new heights (alas, only one survived the ascent to 28,000 feet); in 1886 Wyllie and Brewer went up west of Westminster Abbey to make a drawing, including the smog in which London 'luxuriated' -- as a sign of the energy and prosperity of the world's first port and the capital of Empire.

Juxtaposing an aerial view of St. Paul's surrounded by bomb damage with the current view, the resilience of London can be seen. London has suffered destruction various times, and always bounced back.

After the historical tour, the book takes a tour of London by the river Thames, then branches out into the Central City, the South and West, the North and West, and then follows the river out of the city into Windsor and countryside environments.

One fun section include a collection of aerial views of festivals and 'fun' spots: the Oval, Wembley, Lords cricket ground, the Henley Regatta, Ascot, and, of course, Wimbeldon.

Each series of photographs is accompanied by Cooke's particularly witty and sometimes elegantly-scathing commentary (one can tell when he thinks that progress was not for the better), such as his commentary on the Wimbledon photographs:

'There was a time when the All-England Lawn Tennis Club's Wimbledon courts were surrounded by open meadows and a small enclosure for the nobs who owned automobiles. Today the area of car parks is greater than that of 'the action', and during the fortnight of the championship the cars desecrate the golf course in the adjoining Wimbledon Park.'

A fun and interesting book, one that is deserving of closer inspection. If you've ever been to London, this book will bring back memories and give a perspective that one rarely gets of the city. If you've never been to London, this will inspire you to plan your trip!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice bird's-eye stuff . . ., March 11, 2002

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Above London (Hardcover)

There's something fascinating about aerial views of cities we're familiar with, the new perspectives on familiar buildings and monuments and street intersections. Here, you can see not only the precincts of Parliament and Westminster Abbey but even the huge mass of soccer fields at Hackney Green. Seen from the air, the architectural unity of places like Mayfair and Kensington Palace are evident. My only complaint about this book, actually, is that it isn't more up to date!