1970s London: Discovering the Capital

Following a sheltered childhood and a sequestered education in Cambridge, and having missed out on the swinging sixties, Alec Forshaw was ready for a dose of the wider world. London in the early 1970s was where the lights shone brightest. In reality, it was still a city struggling to find its post-war identity, full of declining industries and derelict docklands, a townscape blighted by undeveloped bomb sites, demonic motorway proposals and slum clearance schemes. The streets were full of street hawkers and greasy-spoon cafes, but enlivened by ghettos of immigrants and student culture. Ideas of traffic constraint and recycling rubbish were in their infancy. It was a decade which saw the three-day week, the Notting Hill riots and the last of the anti-Vietnam war protests. This sequel to Growing Up in Cambridge portrays the London of decades past as it appeared to a young man in his twenties, finding his feet, coming of age, and stumbling across the sights and sounds of an extraordinary city.

Author: Alec Forshaw
Publisher: History Press
Published: 05/01/2011
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.13h x 6.38w x 0.32d
ISBN13: 9780752456911
ISBN10: 0752456911
BISAC Categories:
- History | Europe | Great Britain | General
- Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs

About the Author
Alec Forshaw is a London resident who has pursued a varied career as a town planner, historic buildings architect, lecturer, and musician. He is currently a trustee of the Churches Conservation Trust and the author of various books about London, including Growing up in Cambridge.