Divine Images. The Life and Work of William Blake, Jason Whittaker (hbck, 392pp, £25, Reaktion Books) Reaktion Books were previously responsible for a wonderful series called Topographics, that included many titles which came at place[s] from a number of oblique angles. Their current Cityscopes editions are more straightforward: a potted history, some essays on the contemporary city, along with a profusion of photographs, marketed as ‘essential cultural companions to the world’s greatest cities’. Phil Baker does a nice job of summarising London’s history from 1000BC onwards. His prose is engaging and concise, and swiftly transports the reader into the current day in just 140 pages, having swiftly dealt with the Romans, the expansion of the medieval city, plagues, fires, punks and yuppies en route. It’s a well told summary, but I am less convinced by the rest of the book, which features essays on ‘The City Today’ followed by a ‘Listings’ section which includes a bullet point chronology of Baker’s ‘History’ along with his bibliography., references and acknowledgements.