Leo Hollis

Cities are where the twenty-first century is really going to happen. Already at the beginning of the century, we became 50% urban as a global population, and by 2050 we're going to be up to 70% urban. So cities could either be our coffin or our ark. Leo Hollis presents evidence that cities can deliver a better life and a better world in the future. From exploring what slime mold can tell us about traffic flow, to looking at how traditional civic power structures are being overturned by Twitter, to investigating how cities all over the world are tackling climate change, population growth, poverty, shifting work patterns and the maintenance of the fragile trust of their citizens, Cities Are Good for You offers a new perspective on the city. Combining anecdote, scientific studies, historical portraits, first-hand interviews and observations of some of the most exciting world cities, Hollis upends long-held assumptions with new questions: Where do cities come from? Can we build a city from scratch? Does living in the city make you happier or fitter? Is the metropolis of the future female? What is the relationship between cities and creativity? And are slums really all that bad? Cities Are Good for You introduces us to dreamers, planners, revolutionaries, writers, scientists, architects, slum-dwellers and kings. Ranging globally and through time in search of answers--from the archive to the laboratory, from City Hall to the architect's desk--it is above all driven by the idea that cities are for people and by people.

The Genius of the Metropolis

Cities Are Good for You

'A tour de force of biography, history, politics, philosophy and experimental science' ECONOMIST The remarkable and inspiring story of how London was transformed after the Great Fire of 1666 into the most powerful city in the world, and the men who were responsible for that achievement. 'Wonderfully rich and informative ... a rare achievement' Tom Holland 'Fascinating' Lucy Moore 'An ingenious and fluent overview of extraordinary men at an extraordinary moment, with St Paul's standing as its symbolic heart' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Opening in the 1640s, as the city was gripped in tumult leading up to the English Civil War, THE PHOENIX charts the lives and works of five extraordinary men, who would grow up in the chaos of a world turned upside down: the architect, Sir Christopher Wren; gardener and virtuosi, John Evelyn; the scientist, Robert Hooke; the radical philosopher, John Locke and the builder, Nicholas Barbon. At the heart of the story is the rebuilding of London's iconic cathedral, St Paul's. Interweaving science, architecture, history and philosophy, THE PHOENIX tells the story of the formation of the first modern city.

St. Paul's Cathedral And The Men Who Made Modern London

The Phoenix

The Democratic Threat of Platform Urbanism

Who Owns the Intelligent City?

Richard Garnier

The Early Development of the Pendulum Clock in London, Exhibition at Bonhams, London, 3 - 14 September 2018

Innovation & Collaboration

Provides basic facts about England including travel tips and descriptions of English landmarks, history, and cuisine.

Pick Your Brains about England

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 Christoper 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.

The Men Who Made Modern London

London Rising

The history of London through the centuries in 12 fascinating walks - ranging from the original Roman foundations, Tudor and Regency periods up to the present day Millenium Wheel and the 'Gherkin'.

Historic London Walks

The story of London, told through twelve of its most seminal buildings. 'Excellent ...this is an imaginative book that finds a convincing new way to tell the story of one of the most written-about cities in the world' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Hollis has a fine eye for architecture, and engagingly describes neo-classical marvels as well as the Labour government's dockside folly of the Millennium Dome... Hollis is good company' SPECTATOR In a sweeping narrative, from its mythic origins to the glittering towers of the contemporary financial capital, THE STONES OF LONDON tells the story of twelve London buildings in a kaleidoscopic and unexpected history of one of the world's most enigmatic cities. From the Roman forum to the Gherkin, Regent Street to the East End, the Houses of Parliament to Greenwich Palace, London's buildings are testament to the richness of its past. Behind the facades of these buildings lie the stories of the people, ideas and events that took place within them and that caused their creation. They all have very human stories, of the men and women who dreamed and lived their lives in London, leaving their imprint upon the fabric of the capital.

A History in Twelve Buildings

The Stones of London

The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages and how the super-rich came to own London ‘Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world’s greatest cities.’ Dan Snow The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages and how the super-rich came to own London In June 1701, a young widow wakes up in a hotel room in Paris and finds a man in her bed. Within hours they are married. Yet three weeks later, the bride flees to London and swears that she had never agreed to the wedding. So begins one of the most intriguing stories of madness, tragic passion and the curse of inheritance. Inheritance charts the forgotten life of Mary Davies, born in London during the Great Plague of 1665, and the fate of the land that she inherited as a baby. This estate would determine the course of a tragic life. Hollis restores this history of child brides, mad heiresses, religious controversy and shady dealing. The drama culminated in a court case that determined not just the state of Mary’s legacy but the future of London itself. Today, Mary’s inheritance is some of the most valuable real estate in the world.

A Story of Property, Marriage and Madness

Inheritance: The Lost History of Mary Davies

‘Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world’s greatest cities.’ Dan Snow The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages and how the super-rich came to own London In June 1701, a young widow wakes up in a hotel room in Paris and finds a man in her bed. Within hours they are married. Yet three weeks later, the bride flees to London and swears that she had never agreed to the wedding. So begins one of the most intriguing stories of madness, tragic passion and the curse of inheritance. Inheritance charts the forgotten life of Mary Davies, born in London during the Great Plague of 1665, and the fate of the land that she inherited as a baby. This estate would determine the course of a tragic life. Hollis restores this history of child brides, mad heiresses, religious controversy and shady dealing. The drama culminated in a court case that determined not just the state of Mary’s legacy but the future of London itself. Today, Mary’s inheritance is some of the most valuable real estate in the world.

Recreating over 2000 years of the city’s history, from the ancient catacombs to Le Defense, Historic Paris Walks, takes the reader on ten specially commissioned rambles around the celebrated metropolis; each walk will introduce the people, personalities, events and ideas that have defined the city through the centuries and give the metropolis its unique identity. Discover the lost generation’s favourite bookshop on the Rive Gauche, how the Louvre came to be built, the difference between a boulevardier, a flanuer and a pyschogeographer, and where to find the Isle of the Cows. Involving many specialists on different historic periods, the author has created a book that provides both illuminating background reading as well as an invaluable reference tool to this most beguiling of cities.

Leo Hollis

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