"Jumpin' Jack Flash: David Litvinoff" and "Beautiful Idiots and Brilliant Lunatics"

Two Cool London Books

ISBN: 978-0-224-09812-0 Jonathan Cape Vintage

For me, what is there not to love about this book?  In 300 or so pages, I get a bit of Jewish London history of the East End, The Krays, The Rolling Stones, and a tale of an obsessive record/music collector who was also a criminal, Francis Bacon  & Lucian Freud, London Soho nightlife, as well as one of the leading influences of the great film "Performance."    Not only that, he was hired as an advisor for the film and hinted that perhaps (or perhaps not) wrote some of the scenes for the film.   David Litvinoff is a figure who very much lived in the shadows of other people.  Yet, his presence was significantly noted in the Krays and the world of Eric Clapton, Stones, and the swinging London 60s.   Litvinoff was an invented character (of sorts) who was the bridge between the criminal life of London and the world of rock n' roll with a side trip to the cinema.  The author, Keiron Pim, did a fantastic job putting together this biography; that couldn't have been that easy.  

ISBN: 978-1-4456-5119-4 Amberley Books

Beautiful Idiots and Brilliant Lunatics: A Sideway Look at Twentieth-Century London" by Rob Baker

For me, a city is something of brilliance.  I never cared for nature or the world outside of a city.  I love neon lights, people walking from there to here, cars, public transportation, and various cafes and restaurants.   Each city has a definite identity.  My favorite cities are Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo, and the subject matter of this book is "Beautiful Idiots and Brilliant Lunatics," London.  It is odd when I walk around London; I'm consistently looking for something from the past.   My main interest is London in the 19th and 20th centuries - and I have a pretty good collection of books on that subject.  My favorite, I think, is this book.  It captures the mystery, eccentricity, and life flowing through its streets.

The book covers everything from Mary Quant to woman nazis to Christine Keeler to underground gay culture.  Rob Baker has the eye of a historian but the heart of a poet - and he takes the reader down various pathways to a world that is very much London but also going against the grain.  

This superb book is based on Baker's excellent website, "Another Nickel in the Machine."  I discovered this site by accident, and like any good accident, it led me to other worlds within London.   His fantastic collection of photographs is reason enough to visit the site, but now he has made an equally significant book.

This book is a must for those who love London, but even those who have never been to that part of the world, yet find the urban world of great interest will need to own and read "Beautiful Idiots and Brilliant Lunatics."