London in the Twentieth Century: A City and Its People by Jerry White
This is an authoritative and accessible social and political history of London in the 20th century. Full of anecdotes, the book presents London as a city of sustained (and sometimes delicately balanced) paradox, and of incomparably diverse geography and peoples. From its fin-de-siecle imperial splendour (amidst pockets of appalling poverty) to its revitalized swinging status (tainted by racial tension) today, London has been a consistently fascinating city. The book attempts to account for all its facets.