City Books is an imprint of Survival Books, which was established in 1987 and by the mid-1990s was the leading publisher of books for expats and migrants planning to live, work, buy property and retire abroad. In 2000, we published the first of our London books – Living and Working in London – followed by Buying or Renting a Home in London in 2006 and Where to Live in London in 2010. Since then we have published over 20 new London titles and we now specialise in alternative London guidebooks for both residents and visitors.
Our London guidebooks are designed to answer the perennial question “What can we do today?” With one of our guidebooks you need never be at a loss for something to do in London. Where possible, our guides avoid the major attractions, which are covered in numerous excellent tourist guides and online, and need no introduction. What our writers do is seek out the city’s lesser-known, but no less worthy, hidden attractions. We trust you will get as much pleasure from discovering London’s hidden ‘secrets’ as much as we have researching and writing these books.
Our philosophy has always been to provide the most accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information as possible, and our titles often contain up to twice as much information as ‘similar’ books and are updated more frequently. All our London guidebooks are printed in full colour and contain original illustrations, photographs and maps. Survival Books are designed to be easy – and interesting – to read, and invariably contain a comprehensive list of contents and/or index, plus handy appendices such as useful websites.
Survival Books are written by experts in their fields with first-hand experience of London (and other countries, as applicable) – either residents, former residents or frequent visitors – ably assisted by a host of local researchers. They provide invaluable insights into local attractions and sights that cannot easily be obtained from official publications or websites – information that is more comprehensive and reliable (and more objective) than that provided by the majority of official and unofficial websites.
Many of our books are available as both PDF and Kindle eBooks - see individual books - and all have a sample PDF you can download for free.