Lost London is an A-Z of buildings, professions and other aspects of London that haven't survived to the modern day, from Roman times through to the earliest twentieth century.

Its weakness is the author's attention span, which means he sometimes forgets to tell us why a certain building is no longer with us. Its strong point is the wealth of curiosities in London's past, which means there's at least one curious or funny entry for every dull one.

A great loo book, which improved markedly when I stopped trying to read it cover to cover and just dipped in and out from time to time.

***1/2