Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City - Tapa dura

It is impossible to understand Britain today without knowing the part played in its history by the Victorian cities. BUILDING JERUSALEM is a key text which should be read by all politicians,in local and central government, and by anyone interested in the way we live now. It is deeply researched, but written in an highly accessible way, and the reader never loses sight of the vitally relevant and interesting story Tristram Hunt has to tell. It is history writing at its compulsive best (AN Wilson)

his book [has a] prodigious range and passionate enthusiasm, and his skill is in showing how ideas...can take over minds, change landscapes and mould the future. It is a rich, nutritious read. (John Carey SUNDAY TIMES (30.5.04))

Hunt's convincing history is vividly narrated, all the more so as it features many contemporary voices, including generous quotation from contemporary literature, eye-witness accounts, reportage, diaries, tracts and polemics - the words of Engels, Southey, Carlyle, Ruskin, Macaulay, Cobden and their like...BUILDING JERUSALEM is an ambitoius work of of rigorous scholarship...[and] one of the most appealing things about Hunt's style is that he makes complicated ideas accessible. (Kate Colquhoun SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (6.6.04))

[Hunt] has an infectious enthusiasm which brings his subject to life, an eye for detail and biographical anecdote, and a racy, readable style. This is a valuable book on an important subject which has been neglected for too long. (Jane Ridley LITERARY REVIEW (1.6.04))

The argument of BUILDING JERUSALEM is a seductive one. (Matthew Sweet INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY (13.6.04))

[BUILDING JERUSALEM] is a book as big and ambitious and convincing as its subject...Developing his thesis that the Victorian city ineveitably led to the Victorian suburb, Hunt is excellent...BUILDING JERUSALEM is a marvellous book because it reminds us if these important ideas and helps us to appreciate the glorious Victorian inheritance. (Stephen Bayley GUARDIAN (12.6.04))

There is a great deal to admire about BUILDING JERUSALEM...the most inspiring chapters describe the great campaigns for social reform. (Roy Hattersley OBSERVER (13.6.04))

[a] lively analysis of the Victorian city...[Hunt] brings alive his cast of Victorian city-builders, physical, political and intellectual. He describes what they were like as people, and how their thoughts were translated into steam-age brick, iron, terracotta, marble and glass...[a] lucid and questioning book. (Jonathan Glancey NEW STATESMAN (21.6.04))

Tristram Hunt's book uncovers the intellectual history behind the making of our great Victorian cities. He examines the political, cultural and religious debates and shows how certain fashions, such as medievalism, gripped the 19th century imagination. His critical re-evaluation of what the Victorian civic spirit achieved should be read...by all politicians in local and central government...His wealth of knowledge is engaging, as is his style, and the drama of his subject. (Frances Spalding INDEPENDENT (18.6.04))

Hunt's grasp of architectural, intellectual and high cultural history is assured. (David Kynaston FINANCIAL TIMES MAGAZINE (19.6.04))