BOOKS: Underground movements - This succinct and entertaining account of the rollicking history of London's Tube offers pointers for its future structure, says Bob Kiley

Underground to Everywhere; By Stephen Halliday; Sutton Publishing pounds 19.99

I was bemused to read on the penultimate page of Underground to Everywhere that I had been dismissed, a fact that - if true - would disqualify me from writing this review. But, as they say, reports of my demise are premature. Indeed, I read on the Postcript page that I accompanied Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, to the High Court in July 2001 for the judicial challenge to the Government's plans for a public-private partnership (PPP) to fund the Underground.

London's Underground is a well-documented subject, but this book is a valuable addition to the bibliography. In just over 200 pages, Dr Halliday provides a succinct and entertaining review of how the world's first underground railway was promoted, financed and built, and how the system has fared since. There are fascinating contributions on Frank Pick's continuing artistic legacy, through posters, design and architecture, and on the role played by the Underground in two world wars.