The first history of the West End of London, showing how the nineteenth-century growth of theatres, opera houses, galleries, restaurants, department stores, casinos, exhibition centres, night clubs, street life, and the sex industry shaped modern culture and consumer society, and made London a world centre of entertainment and glamour.

A vivid and compelling memoir recounting the real lives, loves and friendship of 1940s Soho and its working girls. Barbara Tate was 17 when she heard the whispered word that would change her life: Soho. It would take four years for Barbara to escape her loveless home but when she finally made it to the forbidden streets of Soho - just as London was recovering from the trauma of the second world war - things would never be the same again. There the naive Barbara meets the beautiful and capricious Mae. When she takes a job as Mae's maid, Barbara imagines she'll be housekeeping. But down a shabby backstreet, Barbara discovers the secret lives of Soho's working girls. An astonishing world full of fierce friendships and bitter rivalries, dangerous men and desperate measures, Barbara soon learns that taking the money from a staggering supply of punters and making copious amounts of tea are only the bare essentials. She will need to be nursemaid, protector and confidante to impossible, adorable, self-destructive Mae.

Has Europe's extraordinary postwar recovery limped to an end? It would seem so. The United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy, and former Soviet Bloc countries have experienced ethnic or religious disturbances, sometimes violent. Greece, Ireland, and Spain are menaced by financial crises. And the euro is in trouble. In The End of the West, David Marquand, a former member of the British Parliament, argues that Europe's problems stem from outdated perceptions of global power, and calls for a drastic change in European governance to halt the continent's slide into irrelevance. Taking a searching look at the continent's governing institutions, history, and current challenges, Marquand offers a disturbing diagnosis of Europe's ills to point the way toward a better future. Exploring the baffling contrast between postwar success and current failures, Marquand examines the rebirth of ethnic communities from Catalonia to Flanders, the rise of xenophobic populism, the democratic deficit that stymies EU governance, and the thorny questions of where Europe's borders end and what it means to be European. Marquand contends that as China, India, and other nations rise, Europe must abandon ancient notions of an enlightened West and a backward East. He calls for Europe's leaders and citizens to confront the painful issues of ethnicity, integration, and economic cohesion, and to build a democratic and federal structure. A wake-up call to those who cling to ideas of a triumphalist Europe, The End of the West shows that the continent must draw on all its reserves of intellectual and political creativity to thrive in an increasingly turbulent world, where the very language of "East" and "West" has been emptied of meaning.

The book will explain in my terms The West when I was growing upall the people, friends, and families that made it such a memorable and lasting creation and foundation of childhood, youth, as an adolescent right up to my high school years. The book will explain the neighborhood where we all played, shopped; bought our baseballs, lemon ice, candy, newspapers, bologna sandwiches, pizza; or just hung outour neighborhood schools, church, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Hopefully, my memories, reflections, and experiences of The West will bring you joy and many great memories like I have endured! Good reading to you as I return you to Growing Up in the West End of New Rochelle in the 50s60s the way I remember itmy memoirs.

Just as stately trees in Forest Park were coming down to make way for the 1904 World's Fair, elegant homes -- designed by the city's best architects and occupied by its elite-- were springing up on surrounding streets, as a vast building boom began. And that was the start of the St. Louis neighborhood called the Central West End, which quickly grew from a sleepy rural outpost to an address for fashionable people and shops, fine cultural institutions and congregations, high-class hotels and hospitals.That halcyon period did not last, however. Through the years, various factors -- the growth of the suburbs, white flight, the cost of maintaining huge homes, the rise of rooming houses, the disheartening effect of smoke and urban smells -- drove some of the well-to-do farther west, and the Central West End foundered. Though residents, religious groups, and some politicians tried to stop the slide, fine homes disappeared and hospitals fled. At this point, the Washington University Medical Center also faced a choice: stay or go? They decided to hold their ground and mounted a revitalization effort that succeeded, with the support of the resilient community.Today, the Central West End is again undergoing a boom as condominiums go up, businesses come to life, and historic streets find new vitality. To the east, an exciting biotechnology district, Cortex Innovation Community, is building upon its success. Renaissance: A History of the Central West End traces the Central West End's cycle over the past century and more: from its stylish start through its dangerous days to its present strength -- an urban renewal significant enough that it has earned the name "renaissance."

The New York Times bestselling author of 500 Miles from You tells the hilarious and heartwarming story of twin sisters who set out to London in hopes of leaving their mark on the world, in this “gorgeous, glorious, uplifting” novel (Marian Keyes). They may be twins, but Lizzie and Penny Berry are complete opposites. Penny is the life of the party—loud and outrageous, while quiet and thoughtful Lizzy is often left out of the crowd. The one trait they do share is a longing to do something spectacular with their lives, and as far as these two are concerned, there’s no better place to make their dreams come true than London. Presented with a once-in-a-lifetime house-sit at their grandmother’s home in a very desirable London neighborhood, it finally seems like Lizzie and Penny are a step closer to the exciting cosmopolitan life they’ve always wanted. But the more time they spend in the big city, they quickly discover it’s nothing like they expected. They may have to dream new dreams…but are they up to the challenge?