Decent overview of London. London is such a big city with so much history and so much activity, it is difficult to prepare a proper guide. Top 10 does an adequate job of selecting some of the more prominent options. Good as a complement to other research for things to do in London, but perhaps should not be your only guide. ( )

You might think that TOP 10 refers to the Top 10 places YOU MUST VISIT when in wonderful London. But it's actually better and more useful than that. The book is actually about the Top 10 things to see when at more-than-10 nifty places in London.

There's the Top 10 things at the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Museum, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's, Westminster, and more.

And beyond that there are lists of Top 10 for famous residences, pubs, shopping, restaurants, and more.

For restaurants, for example, there are two 'initial' pages of info. A list of 10 Top places to eat, followed by a mini-list of the Top 10 places to eat With-A-View. The book gives you a short description of the cuisine as well as info like whether you'll need reservations. At the end of each short paragraph, the book usually refers you further back in the book where you can find addresses, phone numbers, and map-references.

Which brings me to the maps. One of the things I love about this book, besides the fact that it is small and suitable to keeping in a camera bag or hand bag, are the maps. The front page unfolds 3 times to give you two nicely plasticized maps. The outside map has colored blocks that give 'districts', like Regent Park, versus say, Covent Gardens. In inside map has major roads, and little markers which show train stations and points of interest. It runs from Kennington in the south to Islington in the north. [This front-of-the-book map only runs from the Hyde Park area on the west to the Tower area on the east.]

The back map focuses on West End, Minister, and the South Bank --on the inside. On the other side is a SITE INDEX and a SELECTED STREET INDEX, both of which have map keys. You will need this. I will need this. I've been to London a couple of times but if you are there for fun, by the end of the day you'll be exhausted enough that you'll need this sort of assistance.

I didn't want to write a long review, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the glossy map that is included with the book. This map sits in a plastic pocket and folds up small enough that you could put it in your coat pocket. Or even a shirt pocket. It has a map of the tube system, city map and list of 10 Useful Phone Numbers, 10 Free Sites, and 10 Historic Sites. A useful tool.

For being a small volume, TOP 10 LONDON contains a lot of information. It's not as thorough as the beefier books that are available out there; but its one I plan on buying (currently reading the library's new book) because it's just a great size and perfect for toting around during the day. With it's maps and structure I'm convinced it will help my husband and I to make our first trip to London with our children a pleasant one. The quick guides will remind us what else we might want to see if we're in a particular area, and hopefully will help us to stay flexible. Tired of museums.... Hmm, well how about shopping. We aren't people to stick to a rigid plan. This will help. ( )