London is special. For centuries, it has been amongst the greatest cities of the world. But a city is nothing without its people. This sparkling new history of London, told through a relay-race of great Londoners shows in one personality-packed book that the ingenuity, diversity, creativity and enterprise of London are second to none. 'London is the best big city in the world.' Boris Johnson London, a city which has over the centuries, survived attack, fire and devastation, is a place where people feel enabled to create and empowered to invent. It is and always has been home to a great variety of remarkable men and women - whose lives have enriched the rest of the world. Boris Johnson's book is a celebration of the people who, from the Romans to the present day, give the city its vibrant and exuberant character. From Boudicca to Chaucer, Shakespeare to Florence Nightingale, Winston Churchill to Keith Richards, Johnson's Life of London is the real story of London, told through the Londoners and non-Londoners who have helped to shape the greatest city in the world.